THE ELEMENTS OF 

SPECIFICATION WRITING 

A TEXT-BOOK FOR STUDENTS IN 
CIVIL ENGINEERING 



BY 



RICHARD SHELTON KIRBY, C.E. 

1 

PROFESSOR OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE; 

MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION 

OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION 



FIRST EDITION 

FIRST THOUSAND 



' .V, i i * 3 ', 

**'* ' 



NEW YORK 

JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. 
LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LIMITED 

1913 






COPYRIGHT, 1913, 

BY 

RICHARD SHELTON KIRBY 



Stanbope jprcss 

H. GILSON COMPANY 
BOSTON, U.S.A. 



PREFACE 

THIS book is a text-book on the art of specification writing, 
not a collection of specifications. While intended primarily for 
the classroom, it should prove of value to the young engineer 
in practice. The book is the outgrowth of a series of lectures 
delivered by the author annually for the past six years before 
the senior class in Civil and Sanitary Engineering in the Sheffield 
Scientific School of Yale University. 

The following features are worthy of note here: 

(1) The fundamentals of a contract particularly of a con- 
struction contract with its attendant plans and specifications - 
are concisely brought out. 

(2) A chapter is devoted to the Advertisement and one to 
the Proposal. 

(3) The General Clauses (Chapters VI to XI inclusive) are 
given thorough exposition, from an Engineer's viewpoint. 
Many interesting cases illustrating their application to actual 
construction work are cited and discussed. Numerous and 
varied model clauses are quoted. 

(4) Chapter XII contains practical suggestions touching the 
Specific (or technical) Clauses. Outlines of such clauses for 
nine simple construction projects (Chapter XIII) will assist the 
student as he essays for himself the composition of specifica- 
tions. The outlines cover work with which the average student 
is more or less familiar a manifest advantage to the beginner. 

(5) The classified list of references (largely to recent articles 
in the more readily accessible technical journals) in the Ap- 
pendix will furnish student and instructor a fund of commentary 
and illustration. 

To secure the maximum of efficiency in the use of the book 
as a text it is suggested that the instructor gather as he easily 

iii 

270998 



iv PREFACE 

may a large and carefully selected assortment of specifications 
for collateral use by the class. The student should prepare ab- 
stracts of these in connection with his study of Chapters VI to 
XI; he will also find in them suggestions as to the wording of 
the specific clauses outlined in Chapter XIII. 

Professors S. E. Barney and J. C. Tracy of the Sheffield Scien- 
tific School have read the manuscript and furnished helpful 
criticism. The author wishes here to record his appreciation of 
their kindness. 

RICHARD S. KIRBY. 

GETTYSBURG, PA., 
May 5, 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 
ART. PAGE 

1. Construction Work Classified i 

2. Contract Work 3 

3. Documents 3 

CHAPTER II. 
CONTRACT AND BOND. 

4. Definition 5 

5. Reference Books 5 

6. Contract Essentials 5 

7. Discharge of Contracts 7 

8. Design 7 

9. Plan and Specifications; Specific and General Clauses 8 

10. Combining Contract and Specifications 1 1 

11. Surety Bonds 12 

CHAPTER III. 

ADVERTISEMENT (OR NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS) AND INFORMATION FOR 

BIDDERS. 

12. Necessity for Advertising 15 

13. Essentials of an Advertisement 16 

14. Information for Bidders 19 

CHAPTER IV. 
PROPOSAL. 

15. Necessity for Form 22 

16. Essentials of Proposal 23 

17. Specimen Proposal 25 

18. Presenting the Proposal 26 

19. Awarding the Contract 26 

20. Lump Sum and Unit Prices 27 

21. Unbalanced Bids 28 

CHAPTER V. 
THE COMPOSITION OF SPECIFICATIONS. 

22. Specification Requisites 31 

23. Clearness 31 

24. Rules for Clearness 32 

25. Fairness 35 

26. Fair Specifications 35 

v 




VI CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VI. 

GENERAL CLAUSES SPECIFICATIONS AND PLANS. 
ART. PAGE 

27. What the Plans and Specifications Include 38 

28. Definitions 39 

29. Alterations 41 

30. Inconsistencies and Omissions 42 

31. Verification of Data , 44 

32. Copies Kept on Work 46 

CHAPTER VII. 

GENERAL CLAUSES THE ENGINEER DURING CONSTRUCTION. 

33. Decision of the Engineer 47 

34. Inspector 52 

35. Rejected Material 53 

36. Unnoticed Defects 54 

37. Reception of Engineer's Directions 55 

CHAPTER VIII. 

GENERAL CLAUSES THE CONTRACTOR AND His WORKMEN. 

38. Sanitary Provisions 56 

39. Sale of Intoxicants 56 

40. Discharge of Employees 57 

41. Legal Restrictions 58 

CHAPTER IX. 

GENERAL CLAUSES THE CONTRACTOR'S MISCELLANEOUS RESPONSIBILITIES. 

42. Injury or Damage to Persons or Property 42 

43. Unforeseen Difficulties 63 

44. Local Ordinances, Permits, Licenses, etc 65 

45- Patent Rights 66 

46. Establishment and Preservation of Survey Points 67 

47. Public Travel 68 

CHAPTER X. 

GENERAL CLAUSES PROGRESS OF WORK 

48. Certain Fixed Dates 69 

49. Work Prohibited When 70 

50. Abandonment 71 

51. Right to Suspend 73 

52. Extension of Time 75 

53. Failure to Complete Punctually 77 

CHAPTER XI. 

GENERAL CLAUSES TERMS OF PAYMENT. 

54. Source and Nature of Funds Available 82 

55. Subletting and Assignment 83 

56. Extra Work 84 

57. Frequency and Amount of Partial Payments 91 

58. Conditions of Final Payment 96 

59. Maintenance Clauses , 98 



CONTENTS vii 

CHAPTER XH. 

SPECIFIC CLAUSES. 
ART. PAGE 

60. Grouping 101 

61. Sequence 101 

62. Indefinite Terms 101 

63. Stock Articles 104 

64. Special Brands 104 

65. Impossibilities 105 

66. Grades of Quality 105 

67. Results Versus Methods 105 

68. Balanced Treatment 106 

CHAPTER XIII. 

OUTLINES OF SPECIFIC CLAUSES. 

69. Vitrified Pipe Sewer 108 

70. Macadam Road 109 

71. Laying Cast Iron Water Pipe and Accessories in 

72. Small Reinforced Concrete Highway Bridge in 

73. Concrete Sidewalks and Curbing 112 

74. Retaining Wall of Ashlar Masonry 112 

75. Small Earth Dam 112 

76. Pile and Timber Dock (or Trestle) 113 

77. Wood Block Pavement 113 

APPENDIX. 

REFERENCES. 

Contract versus Day's Work 114 

Contract, Contractors, etc 114 

Advertisement and Information for Bidders 115 

Proposal. n 5 

Composition of Specifications 1 16 

General Clauses, Specifications and Plans 116 

The Engineer During Construction 116 

The Contractor's Miscellaneous Responsibilities 117 

Specific Clauses, Sewers 1 18 

Macadam Roads 119 

Cast Iron Water Pipe and Accessories 119 

Concrete and Stone Masonry 119 

Lumber or Timber 119 

Pavements 120 

Grading, etc 120 

Steel and Iron 1 20 

Collection and Disposal of City Wastes 120 

Materials in General 120 



THE ELEMENTS OF 
SPECIFICATION WRITING 



CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION 

i. Construction Work Classified. For the sake of brevity 
we shall make frequent use of the term " Owner" as referring to 
the person, firm, private corporation or public corporation for 
whom construction work is done. While important work not 
infrequently necessitates, in these days, the cooperation of 
engineers in many capacities, we shall use the word "Engineer" 
in speaking of the Engineer employed by the Owner. 

(a) The Engineer may, as agent for the Owner, direct all the 
operations, even to purchasing the materials and paying the 
workmen. The Panama Canal and the Los Angeles Aqueduct 
are being constructed under such an arrangement; the Corps 
of Engineers of the United States Army, various railroad cor- 
porations and some municipalities carry on a portion of their 
construction work under this or a slightly different plan. The 
term "force account 11 is generally applied to this arrangement, 
which is a very flexible one, but one to which slight reference 
will hereafter be made in this book. 

(b) A modification of the above plan consists in the employ- 
ment by the " Owner" of a third person, called a "Contractor," 
who agrees to furnish whatever material and labor is from time 
to time needed and to direct the work (under the Engineer's 
supervision), in return for which he agrees to accept as pay- 
ment an amount slightly greater than the cost to him. This is 
commonly called having a piece of construction done by " day's 



2 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

work" although the term "force account" has been applied 
here as well. According to the terms of the agreement, the 
price paid the " Con tractor" may be related to the cost to him 
in one of two ways, namely: 

(i) Cost-plus-a-percentage. With this arrangement the price 
paid by the Owner is computed by summing up the cost, to 
the Contractor, of materials and labor (with sometimes a 
further allowance for incidental expenses such as depreciation, 
office rent, etc.), and adding to this sum an agreed percentage 
of profit. 

(ii) Cost-plus-a- fixed-sum. This varies from (i) simply in 
that the amount added is a prearranged sum, not a pre- 
arranged fraction of the cost. 

It may be said of the day's work plan (including both (i) 
and (it)), that if no necessity exists for fixing in advance a 
maximum allowance of either time or money, and if unlimited 
confidence can be placed in the ability, energy and reliability 
of the Contractor, the method is nearly ideal. It is especially 
useful in emergency work, or for work the quantity or nature 
of which cannot well be foreseen, or for work of a hazardous 
or experimental character. The advantage of (ii) over (i) is 
that as profit no longer varies with cost to the Contractor, 
there is no temptation on his part to increase the cost. Com- 
paratively little American construction work has been done 
under this plan, although a considerable number of buildings 
have, within recent years, been erected on the cost-plus-a-fixed- 
sum basis. 

The student is referred to Engineering News, 1912, vol. 68, p. 392, for 
the outline of a proposed sliding scale payment plan in which an incentive 
to economize is furnished the Contractor. This and like schemes, while 
ingenious, have not, to the author's knowledge, been given extensive trial 
in practice. 

(c) Much the larger proportion of construction can be classed 
as "contract work." This is a convenient term for that which 
is carried on under an agreement by which the Owner is to pay 
the Contractor a definite sum for his work (or for each separate 



INTRODUCTION 3 

part), regardless of the Contractor's profits. In contract work, 
although the Owner's interests are still looked after by the 
Engineer, much of the responsibility for the execution of the 
work is shifted to the Contractor's shoulders. 
2. Contract Work. 

(a) Objections sometimes urged against "contract work" 
are: 

(i) That profits are exorbitant. This is doubtless true at 
times, and where no bona fide competition exists. But, on 
the other hand, the student should recognize the fact that a 
reasonable percentage of a contract price is legitimate profit. 
Further than this, a Contractor is perfectly justified, as his 
work progresses, in endeavoring to increase his net profits 
by wise planning, careful supervision and economy not by 
slighting his work or by endeavoring to substitute inferior 
workmanship or materials. The best work is not necessarily 
that which has proved most costly to the Contractor. 

(ii) That undue haste may result in poor construction. 
Here again it is true that most kinds of work can be either 
well and rapidly done or poorly and rapidly done. 

(Hi) That altering the design is difficult and expensive. 
This is a valid objection only when the design cannot be 
thoroughly worked out in advance. 

(b) It may be added, moreover: 

(i) That contract work is generally cheaper, since it lends 
itself more readily to competition. 

(ii) That a definite price has oftentimes many distinct ad- 
vantages for all concerned. 

(Hi) That in case the Owner is a public corporation, any 
other plan than that of contract work is commonly forbid- 
den by law. 

3. Documents. In connection with a single piece of con- 
struction work done under contract it is frequently necessary to 
prepare six documents, viz: 

(a) Contract, 

(b) Bond (or bonds), 



4 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(c) Advertisement (or Notice to Contractors), 

(d) Information for Bidders , 

(e) Form of Proposal , 
(/) Specifications. 

The responsibility for the preparation of the last three of 
these should, and usually does, rest entirely with the Engineer, 
and he is generally expected either to prepare portions of the 
others, or at least to be familiar with their contents. On work 
of any magnitude the contract proper should be framed entirely 
by the Owner's legal adviser, or be subject to his approval, 
while the bond is essentially a legal matter. 

Where the magnitude and importance of the work warrant the 
extra expense involved, all of these documents, generally except- 
ing the advertisement, are printed and bound together in pam- 
phlet form. The best practice is tending away from the ancient 
and cumbersome legal cap form, bound at the top, toward a 
much more convenient form six or eight inches wide and nine or 
ten inches high, bound at the left edge like an ordinary book. 
This improved form, together with marginal headings, intelli- 
gent selection of type and an index, are recent innovations 
which make it possible for one to refer to any portion of the 
composite document with the minimum expenditure of time and 
effort. 



CHAPTER II 
CONTRACT AND BOND 

In this Chapter are briefly discussed the essentials of a valid contract, the ways 
in which it is discharged, and the interrelation of contract, specifications and plans. 
A typical contract form is given. The significance of surety bonds is explained, 
and a specimen bond given for illustration. 

4. Definition. A contract is an agreement between com- 
petent persons to perform some legal act. 

The subject of the law of contracts is outside the scope of this book, 
further than a brief discussion which will be entered into in the hope of 
making clear some otherwise obscure points in connection with the writing 
of specifications. 

5. Reference Books. While many construction contracts 
are drawn by engineers, the author wishes to be understood as 
advising the young practitioner that he proceed slowly in this 
direction, remembering that a little knowledge may prove to be 
dangerous. Next to a course in law is recommended to the 
student or young engineer a thorough study of some of the fol- 
lowing standard works: 

Anson, "Law of Contracts" (a book primarily for law stu- 
dents). 

Wait, " Engineering and Architectural Jurisprudence" (for 
the lawyer, engineer and architect). 

Tucker, "Contracts in Engineering" (for the engineering 
student or practicing engineer covers much beside construc- 
tion work). 

Beside these there are a number of standard treatises on con- 
tract law, such as Parson's, Lawson's, etc., some of them far 
less condensed than those mentioned above and correspondingly 
less satisfactory to any but the practicing lawyer. 

6. Contract Essentials. In order that a contract may be 
binding it is necessary: 

5 



6 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(a) That the parties * be competent. The courts will not en- 
force contracts made with persons under legal age (" infants "), 
convicts, confirmed drunkards, insane persons and the like, or 
with corporations in matters in which they exceed their charter 
rights, or with agents when they exceed the authority delegated 
them by their principals, etc. 

(b) That the subject matter be legal. Contracts to perform 
acts contrary to either common law or statute law, or opposed 
to public policy are not binding. Municipalities must comply 
with statutes defining their debt limit, or dealing with the 
manner in which they shall advertise or award contracts, sell 
bonds, etc. A compulsory arbitration clause (Art. 33), and a 
penalty clause (Art. 53), have been classed as opposed to public 
policy. 

(c) That the parties have mutually agreed. Every contract 
springs from the acceptance of an offer. Each party must have, 
however, understood and assented to the offer in precisely the 
same sense. When it can be shown that either entered into the 
agreement through certain mistakes, or misrepresentation, or 
fraud, or duress, or undue influence, it will generally be held 
that as the agreement was only apparent the contract was not 
binding. A contract (unless for work extending over more than 
a year) need not be written, although it is often difficult to 
establish the existence or the exact terms of an oral contract. 

(d) Further, unless the contract is a " sealed" one (one in 
which a "seal" has been affixed to the signatures), there must be 
a "valuable consideration." Engineering construction contracts 
include valuable considerations, and in most cases need not be 
"sealed" (unless one party is a corporation whose officers are 
required to use a seal) . Valuable consideration is not necessarily 
adequate compensation, but may consist (according to an old 
English decision) "either in some right, interest, profit or bene- 
fit accruing to one party, or some forbearance, detriment, loss or 
responsibility given, suffered or undertaken by the other." 

* A legal term meaning the persons who have entered into contract the prin- 
cipals. 



CONTRACT AND BOND 7 

Distinguish between common and statute law. 

Define equity; the statute of frauds. 

Discuss the origin of a " seal "; consideration. 

7. Discharge of Contracts. A contract may be terminated 
or " discharged" in a number of ways: 

(a) By performance of its every detail. Strictly speaking, 
this rarely occurs in connection with a contract for construc- 
tion work. 

(b) By mutual agreement, that is, the parties may (before the 
terms of the contract have been fully carried out) agree, each 
for a consideration, that the contract shall no longer hold them. 
This would be called a "waiver" of the contract. Sometimes 
this takes the form of a new contract substituted for the old 
one, as in the case, of substantial alteration, by common agree- 
ment, of the terms of the original contract. (See Art. 29.) ' 

(c) By operation of the rules of law. Alterations in the 
document made by one party without the knowledge and con- 
sent of the other would discharge the contract, as would also 
the " going into bankruptcy" of either. 

(d) It may become impossible. The word impossible has been 
rather strictly construed by the courts. A contract to repair 
leaks in a dam or to paint a bridge would be rendered impos- 
sible of performance in case the entire structure were wrecked 
and carried down stream by a freshet. (See Art. 43.) 

(e) It may be broken, by either party's failing to carry out any 
single one or all of the stipulations which form his part of the 
agreement. The injured party has then the right of action, that 
is, he may sue for damages, or in some few instances (not affect- 
ing construction work) to compel performance. (See Art. 53.) 

8. Design. 

(a) Put in another way, a contract may be somewhat loosely 
denned as an agreement entered into between two competent 
persons, by the terms of which agreement one of them agrees 
to perform for the other a certain (legal) act, for which the 
other agrees to pay him. Some acts can be denned in Very few 
and simple words. The act of a Contractor hi constructing 



8 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

even an unimportant structure is complex. In order that the 
act may be properly described in the contract it is necessary: 
(i) That some person shall have a mental conception of the 

finished project (even though the conception be somewhat 

vague as to some of the minor details). 

(ii) That from his mental conception there shall be pre- 
pared a more or less detailed design. 

(b) A complete design determines: 

(i) The proportions and relative positions of each part. 

(ii) The various materials to be used. 

(Hi) Certain qualifications as to workmanship. 

9. Plan and Specifications ; Specific and General Clauses. 

(a) The proportions and relative positions of each part can 
best be shown graphically by a drawing, called the plan.* If, 
however, one should attempt to add to the plan all the necessary 
data as to materials and workmanship it would in most cases 
be found that the space was not sufficient and that the plan was 
obscured. This sort of information can in fact be more clearly 
conveyed by means of a separate document, and forms a large 
part of what is called the "specifications^ namely the specific 
clauses therein. 

The word specific is rather misleading, implying as it does 
that other clauses are not specific or precise. " Descriptive " or 
"technical" clauses would perhaps be better terms. The 
specific or technical clauses in the specifications describe, then, 
materials and workmanship, or in other words they define the 
work from the standpoint of the Engineer. 

In the case of a steel bar, the plan would give its dimensions and its 
position with respect to the rest of the structure, while the specifications 
would prescribe the material, its manufacture, testing, etc., with perhaps 
some added requirements as to its fabrication and exterior finish. 

The plan for a simple monolithic concrete structure would show the 

* Whether all the details of the plan have been determined on at the time of 
the signing of the contract (as they ought to be if at all possible), or whether 
some must later be worked out, either by Engineer or Contractor, it is still pos- 
sible to refer to those drawings which illustrate the essential features of the de- 
sign as "the plan." 



CONTRACT AND BOND 9 

detailed dimensions of each portion, while the specifications would properly 
prescribe the proportions and quality of the several materials composing 
the aggregate, with instructions regarding mixing, laying and finishing the 
concrete. 

(b) Further than this, however, there are certain contingen- 
cies to be provided for, some of them only remotely related to 
actual construction, but all of them bearing on the business and 
legal dealings of the parties concerned with the construction. 
These matters are treated in a distinct section of the specifica- 
tions, in a group of clauses commonly known as the "general 
clauses" sometimes as "clauses of general application." 

The general clauses treat of various phases of the work, or of 
a variety of situations that might arise during its construction, 
from the standpoint of the lawyer or of the business man. 
They are called " general" because their wording is such that 
the same clause could be made to apply to any of a number of 
pieces of work differing widely in character. Such a clause 
might, for example, fit equally well into specifications for build- 
ing a bridge, a sewer or a pumping plant. Judgment should, 
however, be exercised in the selection or transferring of general 
clauses, and the "scissors and paste" method should be practiced 
sparingly and with discretion. 

A case in point was brought out by the recent destruction by the waves, 
during an unusually severe storm, of a sea wall in course of construction 
at the extremity of an isolated rocky promontory. An examination of the 
specifications made subsequent to the catastrophe, to determine whether 
or not the Contractor could be required to rebuild the wall, disclosed the 
fact that the Engineer in copying some of his general clauses from speci- 
fications for an entirely different structure located elsewhere had used a 
clause referring to damage by fire, but had made no provision for damage 
from the waves. 

(c) The line between general and specific clauses is not a 
perfectly sharp one, and a few clauses would seem to fit equally 
well into either group. (See Art. 47.) Other clauses, often 
classed as general, actually relate neither to business nor to 
legal matters, and might more properly be termed "clauses of 
convenience." (See Art. 32.) 



10 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(d) The general clauses discussed in Chapters VI to XI com- 
prise those in most common use. Not all would of necessity be 
included in specifications for work which was simple and inex- 
pensive, while work of considerable magnitude and complexity 
might sometimes require more. If the work is for a public cor- 
poration there may be statutes requiring that certain stipulations 
be included in contract or specifications. (See Art. 41.) It may 
often seem that the general clauses treat of certain apparently 
remote contingencies with unnecessary explicitness, but it must 
be remembered: 

(i) That the specifications are prepared before it is known 
who the Contractor is to be. Were it otherwise many of the 
general clauses could, in some cases, be much abbreviated or 
wholly omitted; and 

(if) That the object of inserting many of these clauses is to 
keep both parties to the contract out of law, if possible. In 
this respect the nature of an Engineer's service to his client is 
not unlike that of a physician who is regularly paid so long as 
he keeps his patient in good health. 

(e) Good practice differs as to how many, if any, of the 
"general" clauses should have a place in the contract proper 
and how many in the specifications. Many lawyers, for ex- 
ample, insist that clauses such as those relating to extra work 
(Art. 56), damage to persons or property (Art. 42), and perhaps 
a few others, are more binding if made express covenants of 
the contract. The author believes that if the specifications, 
"in toto" are made beyond question a part of the contract, 
using the arrangement suggested in Art. 10 the distinction is 
too fine to carry much weight. It may be noted that such 
clauses vary slightly in phraseology with their surroundings. 
A distinct stipulation or covenant in the contract might open 
with the words "And it is further understood between the 
parties hereto" or "The party of the second part hereby further 
agrees," while the same point could be covered in the specifica- 
tions in language beginning "The Contractor shall." 



CONTRACT AND BOND II 

Do not attempt to make a point more emphatic by covering it in both 
contract and specifications. This is an implied confession that the point 
has not been made sufficiently clear in one instance, and may lead to seri- 
ous difficulties. 

10. Combining Contract and Specifications. 

(a) In view of the foregoing it is readily seen that the speci- 
fications are intended simply as a part of the contract. This 
fact should always be stated in the contract, making the speci- 
fications (and plan as well) a part of the document by 
"reference" (a legal term). There are several ways in which 
they may be related physically, and the student should note at 
least two from actual copies examined. The author believes 
that the most satisfactory method of combining contract and 
specifications is shown in the following example: 

(b) SPECIMEN CONTRACT FOR CONSTRUCTION 
WORK. 

This form is given not to be accepted blindly but simply as an illus- 
tration of a method of combining specifications and contract. 

THIS AGREEMENT, made this tenth day of April, nineteen 
hundred twelve, between John William Smith of the town of 
Greencastle and state of Connecticut, Party of the First Part, 
and Peter Brown of the same town and state, Party of the Second 
Part. 

WITNESSETH that the said Party of the Second Part hereby 
agrees for the consideration hereinafter mentioned and under 
penalty of a bond bearing even date herewith and hereto an- 
nexed to furnish all materials, tools and labor and to construct 
and complete on or before the first day of July nineteen hundred 
twelve a certain retaining wall near the residence of the said 
Party of the First Part. 

AND the said Party of the Second Part agrees that the said 
work above mentioned shall conform in every respect to the 
annexed plan and specifications both of which are hereby made 
a part of this agreement. 



12 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(Here insert the entire specifications, and if possible the plan.*) 

And the said Party of the First Part hereby agrees to pay to 
the said Party of the Second Part when the entire work herein 
described shall have been completed the sum of one thousand 
and fifty dollars ($1050.00). 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have hereunto set 
their hands and seals the day and year first above mentioned. 

Party of the "First Part. 

Party of the Second Part. 

Seals. 
Witnesses. 

ii. Surety Bonds. 

(a) The most common form of surety bond is, in essence, so 
far as it relates to the business of contracting, an agreement on 
the part of a third person (or corporation), called the Surety, to 
pay the Owner a certain sum of money in case the Contractor 
fails to live up to (a part or all of) his agreement. It is drawn 
in the form of a contract, peculiarly arranged. Examination 
of the specimen surety bond given below will show that the 
first part of the agreement is to the effect that the Surety will 
pay the Owner a certain sum of money, apparently without 
any reservations attached. In what seems like a postscript 
there is added the condition under which the money is to be 
paid.f 

(b) The amount of surety bond required in connection with 
construction contracts varies from perhaps 25 to 100 per cent 
of the contract figures. Private individuals of means may and 
do act as sureties, but the growing practice of requiring "surety 
company" bonds is to be commended. Contractors pay these 

* A simple process for reducing plans to the size of specification sheets is de- 
scribed in Engineering Record, 1911, vol. 64, p. 725, and Engineering News, 1912, 
vol. 67, pp. 351, 545. It should make possible the inclusion of plans under the 
same cover with specifications and contract at little additional expense. 

f For a brief discussion of suretyship the student is referred to Tucker's "Con- 
tracts in Engineering," pp. 17 and 282. 



CONTRACT AND BOND 13 

companies a small fee for acting as sureties, and the companies 
assume little or no risk in the matter, since they in turn re- 
quire valuable security of the contractors. 

(c) A bond furnishes no better security than the financial in- 
tegrity of those who stand back of it. Even when this is of a 
high order various complications may arise rendering the bond 
of doubtful value. (See Arts. 29, 52.) In any event the Owner 
would generally be obliged to enter suit to recover anything on 
it. Despite these limitations, a bond is an almost universal 
accompaniment of construction work. 

(d) SPECIMEN SURETY BOND. 

The following is offered not in any sense as a model, but simply as an 
illustration of a form rather briefer than the average: 

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that we, The John Doe 
Contracting Company of Smith ville, Conn., called the "Principal," 
and The Reliable Surety Company of New York City, hereinafter 
called the " Surety," are held and firmly bound unto the town 
of Smithville in the state of Connecticut in the sum of five 
thousand dollars ($5000.00) lawful money of the United States 
of America, to be paid to said town of Smithville, for which pay- 
ment well and truly to be made we bind ourselves, our heirs, 
executors, administrators, successors and assigns, jointly and 
severally, firmly by these presents. 

Sealed with our seals. Dated this twenty fourth day of 
September in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred 
and twelve. 

WHEREAS the above bounden Principal has entered into a 
contract with the said town of Smithville bearing even date 
herewith and hereto annexed, for constructing a pavement on 
Bank Street in said town in accordance with plans and specifi- 
cations therefor on file with the Clerk of said town, now there- 
fore 

THE CONDITION OF THIS OBLIGATION is SUCH that if the said 
Principal shall well and truly keep and perform all the terms 
and conditions of the said Contract, on his part to be kept, then 



14 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

this obligation shall be of no effect; otherwise it shall remain 
in full force and virtue in law. 

(Signed, Sealed and Witnessed.) 

(e) Some bonds include in the last clause a reference to altera- 
tions, to negligence or to default on the part of the Principal, 
to patent infringements, to payment for labor and materials 
and the like. In connection with certain work, separate bonds 
(in addition to the " faithful performance" bond) are required, 
each covering one of these several risks. For example, a " Labor 
Bond " might differ from the illustration given simply in the last 
clause, which might read : 

"The Condition of this Obligation is such that if the said Prin- 
cipal shall well and truly pay in full at least once a month all 
laborers who may be employed on the work specified in such 
contract, then this obligation shall be void, otherwise it shall 
remain in full force and effect." 



CHAPTER III 

ADVERTISEMENT (OR NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS) 
AND INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS 

This Chapter treats of advertising, more particularly as applied to public 
work; the essential features of the Advertisement and its sequel, the Informa- 
tion for Bidders, are discussed. 

12. Necessity for Advertising. Unless circumstances are 
exceptional, contracts for engineering construction work are let 
only after a more or less extensive competition among contractors, 
which is secured by inviting a number of them to submit each 
an offer to do the work. 

(a) If the work is unimportant, not likely to attract a large 
number of prospective bidders and is to be done for private 
individuals or corporations, contractors may be communicated 
with somewhat informally.* For example, the Engineer or the 
Owner may speak or write to those whom they think will be 
interested. Where the work is of some magnitude, however, 
this method may be neither strictly fair to all contractors nor 
most advantageous to the Owner and the plan outlined in 
(6) may be more or less completely followed. 

(b) In connection with work where the Owner is a public 
corporation (as a borough, village, town, city, county, state or 
nation) it is by law or ordinance generally provided that a wide 
and formal invitation be given through the public prints to all 
interested.! This formal invitation is called an Advertisement, 
or Notice to Contractors. Some ordinances provide that copies 
of the Advertisement be also posted in certain public places. 

* Public service and other corporations, as well as private persons do, of course, 
advertise when it appears to them advisable. 

t It is common to except work of a trivial nature (involving the expenditure of 
only a few hundred dollars) and sometimes emergency work although the word 
emergency may be subject to varying interpretations. 

IS 



1 6 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

Further than this it is frequently desirable, and some local 
ordinances so provide, that the Advertisement be published in 
one or more of the technical papers which have a circulation 
among contractors likely to be interested. The Advertisement 
should first appear a sufficiently long time in advance to give 
prospective bidders a reasonable period in which to make their 
necessary business arrangements. Less than two or three weeks 
is seldom sufficient and a much longer period is allowed on ex- 
tensive and complicated contracts. The Advertisement should 
appear at stated intervals during the period.* 

A typical city ordinance relating to the advertisement of public work 
follows : 

"All contracts to be made or let for work to be done or for supplies to 
be furnished to said City, except . . . , shall be made by the departments, 
boards, or by the officers having the subject matter in charge. Whenever 
any work is necessary to be done to execute or perfect a particular under- 
taking, or any supply is needful for any particular purpose, and the several 
parts of the said work or supplies shall together involve the expenditure of 
more than two hundred and fifty dollars, a written contract for such work 
shall be made . . . , which contract shall be founded on sealed bids or 
proposals, . . . , made in compliance with public notice, duly advertised 
by publication, at least ten days before the time fixed for opening said 
bids or proposals, . . . provided, however, that all street cleaning, general 
repairs and general maintenance of the highways in said city may be per- 
formed at the expense of said city under the supervision of the proper de- 
partment thereof without calling for any bids or making any contract." 

13. Essentials of an Advertisement. The essential points 
to be covered by an advertisement are: 

(a) Character of work indicated by title of Advertisement. 

An advertisement headed simply " Notice to Contractors" or 
"Bids Required" will not be so likely to catch the eye of a con- 
tractor (for example) who makes a specialty of waterworks 
construction as will one entitled, " Water Supply System," or 

* Major Gillette (Engineering News, 1907, vol. 57, p. 587) cites an instance in 
which public work aggregating $4,000,000 was advertised 18 days in obscure 
papers. He says that $9 out of every $10 which the city paid out as a result of 
this practice was wasted. Fortunately for the taxpayers the contract was broken 
before more than a fraction of the work had been performed. 



ADVERTISEMENT AND INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS 17 

"Pipe Laying" or " Filter Beds." A suggestive title attracts 
the attention of men whom the advertisement is designed to 
reach and does not waste the time and attention of others. 

(b) Name of person who will receive bids, with place, date and 
hour. 

Remembering that a prospective bidder may be a stranger in 
the locality and that he may read the advertisement hastily, 
make this point so clear that it cannot be misconstrued. It is 
customary to state that bids will be received not later than a 
certain hour of a certain day. 

(c) Name of Owner. (Person or corporation for whom the 
work is to be done.) 

This is simply to inform the prospective bidder as to whom 
he will have to deal with in his business relations. 

(d) Brief description of work with approximate quantities. 

A contractor of large resources would not be looking for small 
contracts, nor would a contractor with limited capital, meager 
plant and little experience be apt to be looking for a very ex- 
tensive contract. 

(e) A specific statement as to character of bids desired. 

(i) Will bids for sections of the work be considered? For 
example, a sewerage system might advantageously be built by 
several contractors, each working in a separate locality. Or 
a steel bridge might be erected by two contractors, one 
building the substructure and the other the superstructure. 
Such a division into several contracts may result in a lower 
total cost, allowing as it does greater competition among 
bidders. The advantage of lower cost resulting from sub- 
division of the contract is sometimes more than offset by in- 
creased engineering and other expenses incident to delay and 
lack of coordination or cooperation. 

(ii) Will bids for labor only, or for materials only, be con- 
sidered? There is an increasing tendency on the part of 
municipalities to adopt one or the other of these plans. Some- 
times the Owner may be in position to furnish material or 
labor more cheaply than any one else. For example, a city 



18 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

or other corporation may own a stone quarry, or it may have 
a force of laborers under salary. In any event it should be 
clearly stated in the Advertisement just what option, if any, 
will be allowed the bidder in these directions. 
(/) Security required with proposal. 

This security is required as " earnest money," to make reason- 
ably certain that each bidder is acting in good faith, and is con- 
sequently willing to sign the contract if it is awarded to him. 
The advertisement should state: 

(f) The purpose for which the security is required, or the 
conditions under which it is to be offered. This is so gen- 
erally understood that many advertisements contain no 
reference to it. The time and place of the return of this 
security might be given. 

(O) The character or form of the security. It should be in 
the equivalent of cash; often a certified check is required, 
sometimes a bond; if a check it is important that the payee 
be here specified. 

(iii) The amount of the security. In case the successful 
bidder refuses to enter into contract the delay is likely to cost 
the Owner many incidental losses, some of which, as interest 
charges, salaries, etc., are apt to be overlooked. The security 
should therefore be large enough to somewhat more than 
compensate him for the bare expense of readvertising. The 
actual amount fixed is seldom less than one per cent or more 
than five per cent of the cost of the work. Some advertise- 
ments require each bidder to furnish the same sum, while 
others require a uniform percentage of the several bids. The 
latter plan has furnished unscrupulous officials and others a 
means of learning the amounts of some of the bids before they 
were formally opened. 

(g) Amount of security required with contract. 
The student should not confuse this with the security men- 
tioned in (/). It is particularly desirable that the amount be 
here stated if it is larger than would be expected. Why? (See 
Art. n.) 



ADVERTISEMENT AND INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS 19 

**v 

(h) Conditions of payment. 

It would be necessary to state these only in case they varied 
much from common practice. (See Arts. 57, 58.) The varia- 
tion might be so great as to deter some contractors from under- 
taking the work. 

(i) Information as to consultation of plans, etc. 
State explicitly where and when plans and other information 
can be examined, whether they will be mailed gratuitously on 
request or whether or not copies may be borrowed on payment 
of a deposit. The latter arrangement is becoming increasingly 
common where the drawings are elaborate and the specifications 
voluminous, and their duplication would involve considerable 
expense. 

(j) Reservation of the right to reject all bids.* 
Rejection of all bids may be advisable where: 

(i) There exists a well-grounded suspicion of collusion be- 
tween bidders, or of some other form of fraud. 

(ii) The lowest bidder is known to be irresponsible or no- 
tably inefficient. 

(Hi) Radical changes in the design are found necessary 
during the interval preceding the opening of the bids. 
(k) The Advertisement should be dated and signed by the 
clerk, secretary or other proper person, and the name of the 
Engineer should appear thereon. 

The student should prepare an Advertisement for work of a simple 
nature (See Chap. XIII), using the above outline. Numerous examples 
will be found in current issues of technical periodicals. 

14. Information for Bidders. After a contractor has be- 
come sufficiently interested in the work to seriously contemplate 
bidding there are a number of preliminary questions which it is 
natural that he should ask. For the convenience of Owner and 
Engineer and in order to treat all the contractors uniformly, 
there is often prepared a pamphlet, termed "Information for 
Bidders," in which answers to these questions are embodied. 

* In some localities no rejection is allowed. (See Art. 19.) 



20 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

In it is perhaps reiterated most or all of the Advertisement (or 
Notice to Contractors), portions being given at greater length; 
it may include, in addition, information on any or all of the fol- 
lowing points, among others : 

(a) Reference to action authorizing work, or to statutes governing. 

In case the Owner is represented by a Town Council, for ex- 
ample, or is a private corporation, reference should here be 
made to any resolutions empowering the proper officers to pro- 
ceed with the awarding of the contract. This enables the bidder 
for his own protection to examine into the matter and perchance 
avoid being drawn into a contract later to be declared void. 
The bidder's attention should also at this point be called to 
any statutes vitally and directly affecting the work or the cost 
thereof. The entire clause is sometimes made part of the 
specifications proper. 

(b) Restriction of bidders. 

Some municipalities will not accept proposals from contrac- 
tors with whom they have had unpleasant dealings in the past 
- who have defaulted on contracts, for instance or with 
whom they may be at the time in litigation. 

Would an alien be debarred from bidding ? 

(c) Bidders to state experience. 

This is a common requirement in certain classes of United 
States Government contracts demanding more than ordinary 
technical skill and training on the part of the Contractor - 
lighthouse construction for example. 

(d) Samples to accompany. 

Samples are necessary where it is thought advisable to allow 
some latitude in materials, or where a material is somewhat 
untried or difficult to describe. This provision finds wide ap- 
plication in connection with paving work. The samples in such 
cases are used as standards by which to judge the material later 
furnished. It has sometimes been provided that each bidder 
submit samples of the best and of the poorest grade of material 
he proposes to furnish. Where preliminary comparative tests 



ADVERTISEMENT AND INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS 21 

are to be conducted, samples need to be submitted to the En- 
gineer some time previous to the date set for opening bids. 

(e) Instructions for preparing bids. 

These cannot be too clear and explicit; failure in this respect 
may result in serious hardship to Owner or bidder. Directions 
should be given for endorsing bids, the required enclosures 
should be noted, together with instructions for sending them by 
mail. It may even be best in some instances to outline for the 
bidder's benefit his whole course of procedure in filling out the 
form and presenting the proposal. 

(/) Detailed estimate of 'quantities. 

The Advertisement sometimes contains this,, but in general it 
should not. The Engineer may here enter into considerable 
detail, if it will further enlighten prospective bidders. It is 
best to state that the estimate is approximate only (if such be 
the case). If unit prices are submitted, this estimate is used as 
a basis for comparing bids. 

Care in the preparation of this estimate is quite essential. A 
large error might involve serious consequences, even in the case 
of unit prices. 

A certain Water Commission advertised for bids for building a dam, 
enumerating in the Advertisement and the Information for Bidders the 
approximate amounts of the several items included in the work. This 
statement followed: "The above estimated quantities are approximate 
and the Board of Water Commissioners reserves the right to increase or 
diminish the same as may be necessary in the judgment of the Engineer." 
It was further stated that each bidder must visit the work and inform 
himself as to the conditions. The work proved to be different than had 
been anticipated and some of the quantities many times greater than those 
given in the estimate, and the Contractor refused to finish. The City 
sued him but lost the suit. 

The student may prepare an "Information for Bidders" for a sewer 
system in a small town, making all assumptions required. 



CHAPTER IV 
PROPOSAL 

''Every contract springs from the acceptance of an offer." This Chapter is 
devoted to a consideration of the form of an offer or proposal for doing construc- 
tion work. The relative advantages of "lump sum" and "unit price" proposals 
are considered, also the troublesome question of "unbalanced bids." 

15. Necessity for Form. A proposal is in essence simply an 
offer on the part of the bidder to do the work for a certain re- 
muneration. It is quite customary for the Engineer to pre- 
pare a "Form of Proposal" and to require that each bidder 
make use of it. Such a form is necessary for three reasons: 

(a) As a rule there are a number of conditions and qualifica- 
tions necessary to append to the simple offer. 

(b) A form insures definiteness (or precision). Since the 
bidder has simply to fill in certain blanks in sentences already 
framed for him it is reasonably certain that he will convey just 
the meaning he intends. 

(c) A form implies uniformity. All proposals may then be 
considered on precisely the same basis. It would be manifestly 
impossible, for instance, to compare two bids for a piece of 
work, one of which was unconditional, while the other contained 
propositions to use different material than was specified, or 
proposed a longer time in which to finish, etc.* Such a com- 
parison must not infrequently be made by a body of men who 
are not experts in either engineering or finance, and it is de- 
sirable that the proposals be submitted in such way that the 
comparison shall not be a difficult one. 

The practice of binding the proposal sheet with the specifications and 
other papers is to be preferred to that of issuing it as a separate document. 

* Bids not made out on the form or those in which conditions have been in- 
troduced or struck out are called "informal" bids. Unless a very good reason 
exists for their consideration these are generally ignored. An alternative bid, 
unless duly provided for, would be informal, but might lead to a readvertisement. 



PROPOSAL 23 

16. Essentials of Proposal. The following are the state- 
ments which it is desirable to include in a proposal. 

(a) Offer to do the work at stipulated price or prices and on 
terms proposed. 

As previously stated, this is the essence of the proposal. 
Space should be left so that each price may be expressed both in 
words and in figures. Many awkward situations have arisen in 
this connection owing to real or avowed blunders on the part of 
a bidder, such as writing dollars for cents or vice versa, mis- 
placing the decimal point, etc. The Engineer should so arrange 
the wording and the blank spaces as to reduce the probability of 
such mistakes to a minimum. 

(b) Declaration that no fraud or collusion exists. 

While a statement that he was acting honestly, made over 
his own signature by a rogue, would have no moral or legal 
weight, it is common practice to require of each bidder that he 
shall state in his bid that his offer is made in good faith and 
without collusion or fraud. This is designed to discourage: 

(i) The pooling of bids. A, B, C and D found that they 

were to be the only bidders on a piece of work fairly worth 

$1000. By prearrangement they submitted bids ranging from 

A's of $1800 to D's of $2000, and after the contract had been 

awarded to A he donated $150 to each of the others and still 

. cleared $350 himself, over and above a legitimate profit. 

(Could B, C and D collect their share if A refused to pay it ?) 

(ii) Straw bids. A firm may, through its employees, and 

with attempt to deceive, submit more than one bid. 

(Hi) Illegal or improper connection between the bidder or 
some of his subcontractors and certain public employees. 
This would of course apply only to public works contracts, 
and is sometimes specifically mentioned in the proposal. 

(c) Plans understood and locality examined. 

The Contractor may, after his proposal has been accepted, 
(perhaps even after the contract has been signed) claim to have 
misunderstood some important feature of the design. This 
would not constitute for him a legally valid excuse for not carry- 



24 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

ing out the terms of his proposal or contract. A statement, 
made in the proposal, that he has thoroughly examined the site, 
and that he comprehends the plans and specifications has, 
perhaps, a tendency to make a bidder cautious about bidding on 
work without this careful preliminary investigation. 

(d) Date for completion. 

There are three practices in this respect: 

(i) If it is absolutely essential that the work be finished on 
a certain date, this date (preferably not the corresponding 
period of time) may be printed in the proposal form. 

(ii) If the date of completion is relatively unimportant, a 
blank space may be provided in which each bidder may pro- 
pose his own date. This makes the comparison of bids 
difficult. Who shall say, for example, whether A 's bid to do 
the work for $5000 within ninety days is more or less favor- 
able than B's bid to do it for $4000 within six months? This 
difficulty has sometimes been met, with greater or less suc- 
cess, by assigning an arbitrary money value to a day. 

(Hi) It is probably better, if the element of time is not a 
vital consideration, to ignore it altogether in the proposal, 
inserting later a definite and reasonable date in the con- 
tract, when it shall be executed. 

(e) Note that certified check (or other form of earnest money) 
accompanies. 

Here the bidder states: 

(i) That security for a certain amount and of a certain 
form accompanies his bid. 

(ii) That if his bid is accepted and he refuses to sign the 
contract within the required time he is willing to forfeit the 
security, otherwise it is to be returned to him (not, of course, 
until the successful bidder has signed the contract). 

(f) Agreement to furnish security. 

The bidder here makes a statement as to the nature of the 
surety bond he intends furnishing in case his bid is accepted. 
The amount has perhaps already been fixed for him (see Art. 13) 
either as a percentage of his bid or as a definite sum. 



PROPOSAL 25 

(g) Signature. 

The proposal should be signed by the bidder (the principal) 
and the signature witnessed. In some instances an acknowledg- 
ment before a notary is required, and some require that the 
bidder mention in his proposal the names of any subcontrac- 
tors to whom he proposes letting portions of the work. 

17. Specimen Proposal.* 

Itemized Proposal for 

To the Superintendent of Public Works: 

The undersigned hereby declare that the only 

person interested in this bid; that it is made without any 
connection with any person making another bid for the same 
contract; that the bid is in all respects fair and without col- 
lusion or fraud; and that no official of the State, or any person 
in the employ of the State, is directly or indirectly interested in 
the bid or in the supplies or work to which it relates, or in any 
portion of the profits thereof. 

The undersigned also declare that he ha carefully 
examined the annexed form of contract and specifications and 
the drawings therein referred to, and will provide all necessary 
machinery, tools, apparatus and other means for construction, 
and do all the work and furnish all the materials called for by 
said contract and specifications and the requirements under 
them of the State Engineer, for the following sums, to wit: 

(Then follow the itemized amounts.) 

And will commence the work on or before 

19 , and will progress therewith to its completion on or be- 
fore 19 , in accordance with the terms of the contract. 

Accompanying this proposal is a draft or certified check for 
$ , being 5 per cent of the amount of the proposal. 

This money shall become the property of the State if in case 
this proposal shall be accepted by the State through the Super- 
intendent of Public Works the undersigned shall fail to execute 

* (Slightly condensed from N. Y. State Canal proposal form, 1907.) 



26 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

a contract and furnish the surety required by the law within 
the time fixed; otherwise the said money is to be returned to 
the undersigned. 

Signature of person, firm or corporation making the bid. 



P. 0. Address, 

Dated, 19 . 

The full names and addresses of all persons interested in this 
bid as principals are as follows : 



18. Presenting the Proposal. The proposal is put in a 
sealed envelope, properly addressed and endorsed. Accompany- 
ing the proposal, often not sealed with it but put in another 
envelope, are: 

(a) The certified check (or other form of security required to 
insure the signing of the contract). 

(b) (Sometimes.) The written consent of the bondsmen to 
serve as such. 

(c) (Sometimes.) An affidavit as to the financial standing of 
bondsmen offered. This is called the " Justification of Sureties/' 
and is not commonly necessary if surety is to be furnished by 
a reputable bonding company. 

The student should realize that the making of a proposal and its accept- 
ance constitutes the consummation of a contract. Why, then, require a 
certified check? 

Suppose the successful bidder refuses to enter into contract, must he 
necessarily lose his certified check ? 

19. Awarding the Contract. 

(a) Contracts for private work may of course be let to any 
bidder, and the other bidders' only cause for complaint would 



PROPOSAL 27 

be the trouble and expense to which they might have been 

put. 

(b) State and other laws require in relation to contracts for 

public work, either: 

(i) That the work be let to the lowest bidder (sometimes 
qualified by the phrase "if at all"). Under such a law it 
would be possible for the lowest bidder to enter suit if the 
contract were awarded to another. 

(ii) That the work be let to the lowest responsible bidder. 
From the Engineer's viewpoint the latter is much the better 
plan, and should be followed where the laws permit. It is 
impossible to " coax first-class work from a third-class con- 
tractor," especially if he has taken the work at a low figure. 
Work let to an irresponsible contractor generally proves to 
be decidedly annoying to the Engineer and costly to the 
Owner. On the other hand, the indefiniteness of the word 
"responsible" leaves a loophole for unscrupulous officials. 
20. Lump Sum and Unit Prices. 

(a) Where the work to be done can be classified under a very 
few items and the exact quantities of each can be readily ascer- 
tained in advance, provision may be made for a contract based 
on an all-inclusive or lump sum figure. Where, however, there 
are many items and the quantity of work under each cannot be 
precisely foretold, unit prices will be simpler. 

(b) Both would ordinarily involve about the same total cost, 
also the same amount of labor on the part of the Engineer. 
Each method has been used on important work. Unit prices 
are perhaps in more general use on large contracts. 

The first contract for building the New York City subway ($35,000,000) 
was let on a lump sum basis; unit prices prevailed on the New York State 
barge canal contracts; while New York State highway contracts have been 
based on bids in which lump sum and unit prices were combined. 

Which method of payment (lump sum or unit prices), and why, would 
be suitable in the case of a large and important dam? the superstructure 
of a steel bridge? several miles of railroad construction? 



28 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

21. Unbalanced Bids. 

(a) It is not necessary in a contract based on unit prices that 
the quantities under each item be measured in advance with 
precision. Carelessness in this respect on the part of the En- 
gineer may, however, lead to the annoyance and extravagance 
of "unbalanced bids."* 

Illustration: Suppose that it were required to make a certain deep 
excavation amounting to 5000 cubic yards, in connection with the grading 
of a tract of land. The Engineer in asking for bids based on unit prices 
states that they will be compared on the basis of his estimate that the 
excavation consists of 4000 cubic yards of earth and 1000 cubic yards of 
rock. When the bids are opened it is found that they compare as follows: 

Estimated Quantities A's Bid B's Bid 

4000 cu. yds. earth @ $o . 50 $2000 @ $o . 05 $ 200 

1000 cu. yds. rock @ $i . 50 1500 @ $3 .00 3000 



$3500 $3200 

and the contract is awarded to B, whose bid is the lower, computed on the 
basis of his unit prices. Suppose further, that it is discovered as the work 
progresses that the relative amounts of earth and rock have been incor- 
rectly estimated in advance and that when the work is finally completed 
B is entitled to payment as follows: 

3000 cu. yds. earth at $0.05 $ 1 50 

2000 cu. yds. rock at $3.00 6000 

$6150 
or nearly twice his original figure. 

It is readily seen that had the proportions of the two materials been 
known at the time the bids were compared, A's would have totalled as 
follows: 

3000 cu. yds. earth at $o. 50 $1500 

2000 cu. yds. rock at $i . 50 3000 



$4500 

and the contract would have been awarded to him. The Owner therefore 
paid, assuming that A 's unit prices were fair, $1650 more than the work 
should have cost. 

* Major Gillette says (Engineering News, 1907, vol. 57, p. 588), "Public 
treasuries have been robbed of untold millions by this simple device." 



PROPOSAL 29 

(b) A contractor would have an incentive for making an un- 
balanced bid only if it was his belief (founded perhaps on thorough 
local information) that the relative proportions in the Engineer's 
estimate would necessarily be departed from. Such might be 
the case in subterranean or subaqueous construction, or occa- 
sionally elsewhere. 

(c) The submitting of unbalanced bids may be prevented, or 
discouraged, in one of five ways: 

(i) State in the Information for Bidders that no unreason- 
able bid will be accepted. This allows argument as to the 
meaning of the word " unreasonable.". Sometimes a maxi- 
mum or minimum unit price, beyond which the bidder will 
not be allowed to deviate, is fixed in advance for each item. 

(ii) Require lump sum bids only. This would probably 
prove more costly, as each bidder would have to do a certain 
amount of guessing, and he would be careful to protect him- 
self. It might also involve difficulties in properly defining the 
work. 

(iii) Print in the proposal a fair unit price covering each 
uncertain item. All bids on these particular items must then 
be identical. This plan has not been extensively practiced, 
and is not regarded favorably by the average contractor. 

(iv) Let the Engineer prepare a list of unit prices based on 
his judgment of the relative cost of each class of work; and 
require of each bidder that each of his unit prices shall bear a 
fixed ratio (which the bidder determines, and which may be 
of course greater or less than unity) to the Engineer's unit 
figure for the same item.* This is called the percentage unit 
plan, and is in more common use abroad than in the United 
States. 

(v) If at all practicable, the most advantageous plan is for 
the Engineer to make his preliminary investigations com- 
plete and exhaustive. Referring to the foregoing illustration, 

* This plan may be so modified as to provide for the rejection of all bids in 
which any unit price differs more than a certain percentage from the standard 
fixed by the Engineer. 



30 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

it is readily seen that a small fraction of the $1650 spent in 
making borings would have been well invested. 

The student should prepare: 

(a) A lump sum proposal for building either a concrete culvert, or a small 
steel bridge (including abutments), or an earth dam; or 

(&) A unit price proposal for laying a system of sewer or water pipes 
of various sizes, or for constructing several miles of macadam road, or for 
grading a tract of ground. 

In each case he may assume all necessary data. Each proposal should 
be completed in every detail, and enclosed, with all necessary accompany- 
ing papers, in a properly endorsed envelope, 



CHAPTER V 
THE COMPOSITION OF SPECIFICATIONS 

Nowhere is the ability to express his thoughts in clear and forcible English 
more necessary to an Engineer than in the preparation of his specifications. 

Specifications may contain stipulations which, if enforced, would work in- 
justice to the Contractor. 

22. The two most important requisites of specifications are 
clearness and fairness. 

23. Clearness. A specification has been facetiously defined 
as "an instrument or document whose purpose is to set the Con- 
tractor guessing at the meaning of the Engineer." Specifications 
many times require interpretation under unfavorable weather 
conditions and at the hands of unlettered men. The meaning 
of a sentence in the classics (a purely academic question) has 
not infrequently been made a subject for acrid and protracted 
argument. The precise meaning of a sentence in a specification 
should admit of no argument, as it may vitally affect the peace 
of mind and the fortunes of many individuals. Each sentence 
should therefore be so framed that no reasonable person could 
read into it any meaning other than that intended by the 
author. 

Major Gillette cites the following (Engineering News, 1907, vol. 57, 
p. 587). "An engineer first wrote his specifications calling for different 
prices for excavation at different depths, clearly expressed as so much for 
'less than 6 feet' so much ' between 6 and 10 feet' and so on. He revised 
the specification to read so much for 'excavation less than 6 feet,' and so 
much for 'excavation less than 10 feet,' and so much for 'less than 14 feet/ 
leaving it doubtful whether or not separate prices were to be paid for 
different depths at the same place in a deep trench. That Engineer's 
client, a municipality, lost at least $180,000 on that contract, largely made 
possible by that change from clearness to vagueness." 

The author recalls the following sentence which he once found in sewer 
specifications, "After the pipe is laid the trench shall be filled in with 



32 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

shovels." Whether or not the stipulation was interpreted literally he never 
knew. 

24. Rules for Clearness.* Observance of the following 
elementary rules, most of them applying with equal force to 
any technical composition, will lead to a degree of clearness in 
specification writing. 

(a) Prepare an outline. Anyone who attempts an extended 
piece of literary composition feels at once the need of an out- 
line. This need is emphasized in the case of such a document 
as a set of specifications, it is impossible to write them with- 
out a complete and carefully prepared outline, which is designed 
to prevent: 

(i) Repetition, in the specifications, as well as duplication 
between contract and specifications. 

(ii) Contradiction, a far more serious defect, often grow- 
ing out of the former, and one that has led to many a serious 
legal tangle. 

(Hi) Omission. All portions of the specifications are of 
course not of equal importance. A few are of such moment 
that their absence may seriously impair the usefulness of the 
entire document. 

(iv) Illogical arrangement. This applies more particularly 
to the specific clauses. (See Art. 61.) 

(b) Do not use long sentences. A period, judiciously used 
midway, may clear up the meaning of a sentence apparently 
obscure and involved. 

(c) Use commas sparingly. Courts have been known to ig- 
nore their presence. Above all, do not construct a sentence 
in such form that the addition, omission or misplacement of a 
comma could alter the sense. 

"The Contractor said the Engineer was wrong." The addition of two 
commas reverses the meaning. The omission of a comma in a copy of the 
laws of the State of Pennsylvania recently furnished grounds for a suit 
resulting in the award of $850 damages. 

* The student will find the study of such books as Frost's " Good Engineering 
Literature " and Earle's " Theory and Practice of Technical Writing " a valuable 
preparation for the composition of clear specifications. 



THE COMPOSITION OF SPECIFICATIONS 33 

(d) Avoid the use of many-syllabled or high-sounding words. A 
book of synonyms will be useful. Be careful to use technical 
words in their exact technical meaning; if there is any doubt 
put in a word of explanation. In the choice of words it is well 
to restrict yourself to those likely to be included in the vocabu- 
lary of an ordinarily intelligent foreman.* 

(e) The use of pronouns, especially of relative pronouns, should 
be reduced to a minimum. It is better to repeat the noun even 
at a sacrifice of elegance. 

(/) Give directions, not suggestions. Tell the Contractor what 
he shall or shall not do, not that he should or should not do it. 
Architect's specifications are often so abbreviated as to contain 
very few complete sentences. " Plaster on hallways to be 
," etc. Fortunately the practice has not ex- 
tended to engineering specifications. 

(g) Aim to make your language crisp and concise. Do not 
strive for elegance of style or for the effect of a flow of words. 

Until the past few years the language of specifications was to 
a great degree modelled after that commonly used in legal 
documents some of it verbose in the extreme. Many of 
these wordy expressions may be traced back to the days when 
compensation for drawing up legal papers was largely dependent 
on the number of words they contained. The efforts of a num- 
ber of clear-headed writers among the engineering profession have 
brought about a decided improvement in this direction, and many 
of the newer specifications are models of concise expression. 

* To quote from "Life": "Use Short Words. Literary aspirants should 
religiously eschew polysyllabic orthography. The philosophical and philological 
substructure of this principle is ineluctable. Excessively attenuated verbal 
symbols inevitably induce unnecessary complexity and consequently exaggerate 
the obfuscation of the mentality of the peruser. Conversely, expressions which 
are reduced to the furthermost minimum of simplification and compactness, be- 
sides contributing realistic verisimilitude, constitute a much less onerous handicap 
to the reader's perspicacity. Observe, for instance, the unmistakable and ines- 
capable expressiveness of onomapoetic, interjectional, monosyllabic utterances, 
especially when motivated under strenuous emotional circumstances. How much 
more appealing is their euphonious pulchritude than the preposterous and pre- 
tentious pomposity of elongated verbiage." 



34 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

The following is quoted from Frost's "Good Engineering Literature," 

PP- 50, 51 = 

"... Even in specifications, in the preparation of which conciseness 
is second only to clearness, superfluous clauses are by no means uncommon, 
as, for instance, in the following clause taken from a printed set of speci- 
fications: 

" 'It is expressly specified that in entering into the agreement to perform 
the work herein specified, the Contractor admits that he has read each and 
every clause of these specifications and the circular of instructions, fully 
understands the meaning of the same, and that he will comply with all the 
requirements herein set forth.' 

"Here fifty words have been used to say what? Merely that the 
Contractor who has signed the contract has read its requirements an 
assumption that is implied by the act of signing the contract. The clause 
is wholly superfluous on that account, but leaving aside any such legal 
considerations, consider only the wording of the clause. There is no need 
of saying that anything is ' expressly ' specified in a specification. Every- 
thing in a specification is 'specified' and nothing is any more 'expressly 
specified' than anything else. The words 'in entering into this agreement 
to perform the work herein specified,' add nothing to the clearness or scope 
of the clause, for the specification certainly relates to no work outside the 
work 'herein specified'. Again, 'the Contractor admits that he ... 
fully understands the meaning of the same'. Aside from the fact that it is 
hard to understand how a man can 'admit' that he understands, it is un- 
necessary for the Contractor to say so, as his signature 'admits' that. 
Finally, 'he will comply with all the requirements herein set forth'. Of 
course he will. What are the specifications and contract for if not to 
insure compliance with their requirements ? And being so, there is not the 
slightest need of using even ten words to state the fact." 

The student may criticize and reconstruct the following: 

(a) "During a period of ten calendar days following and subsequent to 
the day it is put in place the Contractor shall moisten or cause to be 
moistened with pure water each and every portion of the concrete which 
is or may be deposited by him or by his employees under the terms and 
conditions of this contract." 

(b) "Water used for commingling the component parts of concrete shall 
be hydrogen monoxide of such a degree of absolute purity that a rigid 
analysis shall show not more than a bare trace of volatile oils, grease, or- 
ganic matter, mineral salts or other objectionable impurities." 

(c) "The wall shall be built by the Contractor to lines and grades given 
by the Engineer, and each and every stone before it is laid in place shall 
be inspected by him." 



THE COMPOSITION OF SPECIFICATIONS 35 

25. Fairness. A reputation for fair dealing is among an 
Engineer's most valuable assets, worth to him in the long run 
far more than a reputation for extraordinary ability or for 
cleverness. Many cases of unfairness have arisen from in- 
experience on the Engineer's part. The relation of the Engineer 
to the other persons concerned with construction work is a 
peculiar one. He is employed and paid by one party to the 
contract (the Owner), and expected to act impartially and 
fairly toward both. It is sometimes argued, and not without 
some reason, that the Engineer should be paid in part by both 
Owner and Contractor. In a certain sense, the Engineer's 
position is legislative, executive and judicial. He prepares the 
specifications, sees that the design is executed and explains any 
ambiguities or settles any disputes. 

The following extract from a recent writer is not to be taken as represent- 
ing the broadest view of the relations of the Engineer to the Contractor: 
"The Engineer is in the interests of the Proprietor, and receives his com- 
pensation from Him. . . . He is not required nor expected to watch the 
Contractor's business nor to promote his interests, and any attempt to do 
so might render his position untenable, change the relations of the parties, 
and render the stipulation of his choice invalid. . . . The Engineer owes 
no duties to the Contractor except what he can demand by the terms of 
his contracts; he is under no obligations to protect his interests or assist 
him in his affairs." 

26. Fair Specifications. It may at first seem that the oppor- 
tunity for the exercise of fairness comes to the Engineer only 
after the work of construction has commenced. On the con- 
trary, his treatment of the Contractor begins when he prepares 
the specifications. Reference to recent numbers of the engineer- 
ing periodicals will disclose the fact that the written complaints 
of contractors are directed not so much against how the Engineer 
interprets his specifications, as against some supposedly unfair 
clauses which the specifications contain. Four faults need to be 
guarded against by the beginner in this connection: 

(a) Avoid the use of indefinite words and phrases. The natural 
implication in the case of an all too free use of phrases like "as 
the Engineer may direct," "to the satisfaction of the Engineer," 



36 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

" acceptable to the Engineer," "a workmanlike job," "about" 
(the adverb), etc., may be: 

(i) That the Engineer has not made a sufficiently ex- 
haustive study of the details to be able to describe exactly 
what he wants; or 

(ii) That a contractor who is acquainted with the tempera- 
ment and previous rulings of the Engineer has an unfair 
advantage over one to whom the Engineer is a stranger. 

To quote again from Major Gillette (Engineering News, 1907, vol. 57, 

P- 587). 

"The writer has known a contract in which there was necessarily reserved 
for the Engineer discretionary action on nineteen different matters of im- 
portance. Exercised unfavorably, his discretion could increase the cost 
to the Contractor at least 50 %. Under these circumstances, though the 
contract was a large one, it is remarkable that there were only two bidders, 
and they were 'old friends' in bidding. The Engineer's estimate for this 
work was three million. The Contractors got over five. In another con- 
tract a certain privilege was denied the Contractor, except with the ap- 
proval of the Engineer. Before a stroke of work had been done by the 
favored Contractor the Engineer gave his approval. It was worth to the 
Contractor $107,000.00 in cold cash. 

"The writer once investigated a case where the Contractors in collusion 
with the Engineer fraudulently received about $2,600,000.00 above fair 
profits through a provision in the specifications requiring the bidder to 
submit one price for three different constructions, to be used l at the option 
of the Engineer.' The Contractors and the Engineer concerned have all 
since been sentenced to the penitentiary." 

(b) Do not attempt to throw all risks on the Contractor's shoulders. 
It is never wise, and may be unfair and expensive as well. (See 

Arts. 42-47-) 

(c) Warn the Contractor (in the specifications) of any particu- 
lar danger likely to be encountered. 

The ability to prepare specifications which will bring in low 
bids is not always to be coveted, and serious trouble to Owner 
or Engineer may result if an attempt has been made at con- 
cealment. 

(d) Do not put anything in the specifications unless you mean 
to enforce it. Do not add a clause simply for use in an emergency 



THE COMPOSITION OF SPECIFICATIONS 37 

as a club, it may prove to be a boomerang and injure the Engineer 
when he least expects it. 

Allowing the Contractor, after the contract is signed, to substitute 
something "just as good" is neither fair to the other bidders nor good for 
the Engineer's reputation. There are of course circumstances where a 
concession in price on the part of the Contractor may alter the situation. 
The acceptance of a method other than that prescribed is discussed in 
Art. 67. 



CHAPTER VI 

GENERAL CLAUSES 

Specifications and Plans 

The purpose of the General Clauses has already been discussed, in Chapter II. 
Several extracts (denoted by the letters A, B, C, etc.) from actual specifications 
will be found at the close of each article in this Chapter, also throughout Chapters 
VII, VIII, IX, X and XI. While all of these conform to the best practice, they 
have been culled from many different sources and the variations in phraseology 
and style are very marked. Critical study and comparison of these typical clauses 
should be made by the student. 

The following group of six General Clauses relates to the specifications and plans 
themselves: the meaning of some of the terms used: the making of alterations 
in either: the treatment of any inconsistencies which may appear; and the placing 
of responsibility for data they contain. 

27. What the Plans and Specifications Include. This 
group of clauses often opens the specifications. 

(a) The work they are intended to describe. Under this head 
a concise summarized description of the work should be given, 
noting in particular exactly where it begins and ends and sharply 
differentiating it from work covered by any other contract, ex- 
isting or contemplated. 

(b) What they comprise. Note especially the number, char- 
acter, titles and dates of any drawings already executed. De- 
scribe any yet to be made, whether by Engineer or Contractor. 

(A) The work herein described consists of 



from to The com- 
plete specifications are contained in the following 

pages. The plans comprise sheets numbered 

, (attached hereto), each entitled , 

signed by and dated 

38 



SPECIFICATIONS AND PLANS 39 

28. Definitions. The defining consists not in giving ac- 
cepted or dictionary definitions but in limiting the meanings of 
words or phrases which are to be used throughout the specifica- 
tions. Two purposes are thereby served: First, minimizing the 
possibility of misunderstanding or argument. 

Second, saving space in the specifications. 

(a) Contractor. The necessity for limiting the meaning of 
this word arises from the fact that two or more Contractors are 
frequently engaged in work covered by the same contract. In 
directing the work the Engineer may, and frequently does, give 
informal instructions to any Contractor who may be engaged in 
constructing the particular portion of the work in question. 
Formal directions, in writing, should be addressed however only 
to the Contractor who has signed the original contract with the 
Owner. The purpose of this limitation is to avoid any at- 
tempted shifting of responsibility, and its attendant confusion. 

The clause should be so framed as to recognize the fact that the Con- 
tractor may by "Power of Attorney" papers delegate to any person the 
authority to act as his agent in many capacities. See references under 
"Agency" in books on Contract Law. 

Suppose the Contractor dies before his contract is completed, to whom 
thereafter does the word Contractor refer? What is power of attorney? 

(b) Owner. This clause would hardly be necessary if the 
Owner were an individual. But where the work is being done 
for a city, for example, and the word city is used frequently in 
the specifications, it may be well (since it is obviously impossible 
that the work shall be done to the expressed satisfaction of 
more than a small fraction of the inhabitants) to state at 
this point just which officers of the city the word is intended 
to include. 

Suppose that, while a municipal contract is in progress, the entire Board 
of Aldermen (or whatever board has in charge the matter of public works 
contracts) is replaced by others elected to fill their places, or is even legis- 
lated out of existence by a revision of the charter. To whom is the Con- 
tractor then bound by the terms of his contract? Discuss the case of the 
death of the Owner (an individual). 



40 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(c) Engineer. To avoid misunderstanding on the part of 
anyone concerned it is advisable to state at this point just 
who is meant by the frequently recurring term " Engineer." 
Does it mean the Resident Engineer or one of his assistants, or 
the Division Engineer, or the Chief Engineer, or the Consulting 
Engineer? The reference is generally to the one highest in 
authority, who deals directly with the Owner. He (the 
Engineer), as well as the Contractor, commonly delegates por- 
tions of his authority to his subordinates, thereby making him- 
self liable in that degree for their rulings. 

(d) Other terms. Specifications for some classes of work make 
frequent use of certain expressions the precise meaning of which 
could constitute a subject for argument or misunderstanding. 
Such might include various units, as "ton," "day," "cubic 
yard," "earth," '.'rock" (see Art. 62); also such expressions as 
"clearing," "grubbing," etc.; also such abbreviations as "ac- 
ceptable," "directed," "required" and the like. (See Art. 26.) 

(A) Whenever the following words and expressions, or 
pronouns used in their stead, occur in these specifica- 
tions, they shall have the meanings here given: 

The word "Contractor" shall mean the party or parties 
entering into the contract for the performance of the 
work covered by these specifications, and his or their 
authorized agents or legal representatives. 

The word "City" shall mean the corporation of the City 

of The words "Commission" shall mean 

the Commission of the City of , and 

any other board, body, official or officials to which or 
to whom the powers belonging to the said Commission 
shall, by virtue of any act or acts, hereafter pass or be 
held to appertain. 

The word "Engineer" shall mean the person holding the 
position or acting in the capacity of Chief Engineer of 

the Commission, acting either directly or 

through his properly authorized agents, such agents 
acting within the scope of the particular ..duties en- 
trusted to them. 



SPECIFICATIONS AND PLANS 41 

Whenever in the specifications the words "as directed," 
"as required," "as permitted," or words of like effect 
are used, it shall be understood that the direction, re- 
quirement, or permission of the Engineer is intended; 
similarly the words "approved," "acceptable," "satis- 
factory," or words of like import shall mean ap- 
proved by, or acceptable or satisfactory to, the 
Engineer. 

29. Alterations. This question is a large and important 
one, at least theoretically. By strict interpretation of the law 
the making of any important alteration in design after the 
signing of the contract vitiates the agreement and releases both 
parties to the contract, together with the bondsmen. 

A contract for building a road of crushed limestone, for example, is not 
a contract for building one of crushed trap rock. 

In practice this would almost never be insisted on. The 
Engineer should, however, consult the Owner's legal adviser 
before suggesting alterations in the design, and should be cau- 
tious about making any alterations except minor ones which 
are unquestionably betterments. The substance of such a 
clause should include three points : 

(a) Giving the Engineer the authority to make such reason- 
able changes in plan or specifications as he shall see fit. 

(b) Providing a method of adjusting the difference, if any, in 
cost. (Precluding any allowance, in case of a change involving 
decreased cost, for anticipated profits not realized.) 

(c) Stipulating that changes shall not affect the contract, or 
bond. (See Arts. 7, n.) 

It should be remembered that written matter in an agreement prevails 
over printed matter; why? also that written matter of any importance 
should be signed, and dated. 

(A) This contract, and the specifications herein contained, 
and the plans herein referred to, may be modified and 
changed from time to time as may be agreed in writing 



42 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

between the parties hereto, in a manner not materially 
affecting the substance thereof or materially changing 
the price to be paid, in order to carry out and complete 
more fully and perfectly the work herein agreed to be 
done and performed. 

(B) The right is reserved by (the Owner) to make such 
changes in the plans and specifications as may from 
time to time appear necessary or desirable and as may 
be recommended by the Engineer, and such changes 
shall in no wise invalidate the contract. Should such 
changes be productive of increased cost to the Con- 
tractor a fair and equitable sum therefor, to be agreed 
upon in writing before such changed work shall have 
been begun, shall be added to the contract price, and 
in like manner deduction shall be made. No allow- 
ance will be made for anticipated profits. 
30. Inconsistencies and Omissions. 

(a) Many cases involving inconsistencies between plans and 
specifications have found their way to the courts. A recog- 
nized axiom of law covering similar situations is that the Court 
shall ascertain, if possible, the " intention of the parties" to the 
contract, and that this shall prevail. 

(b) Referring to Art. 9 it is seen that the purpose of the 
specific clauses in the specifications is to supplement the plan. 
It cannot be expected, therefore, that all of the features of the 
design shall be described in both places. In order that there 
may be no doubt or room for dispute on this point it is always 
stated in the specifications, 

(i) that the plans and specifications are to be interpreted 
as mutually explanatory or supplementary, and that there- 
fore any feature shown on one and not on the other shall 
have the same force and effect as if shown on both. It is 
generally added, 

(ii) that anything necessary to the proper completion of 
the work, even though neither shown on plans nor mentioned 
in the specifications, shall be done by the Contractor without 



SPECIFICATIONS AND PLANS 43 

extra charge. This would apply merely to something essen- 
tially and vitally necessary and unmistakably implied. 

For example, the digging of a trench in which to lay a sewer pipe five 
feet underground might be necessarily implied in the agreement to lay the 
pipe; but the constructing of an artificial foundation under the pipe (in 
case the subsoil were found to be soft) would not. Similarly the use of 
forms would be implied in many varieties of concrete construction, while 
the use of any type of reinforcement or the dressing of the surface after the 
forms had been removed would not be. 

The question of guaranteeing the "sufficiency of the plans"* is of interest 
here. To illustrate: A contractor builds a stone arch bridge, which falls as 
soon as the centers are removed. Inspection has been adequate and the 
Engineer has made no complaint that the Contractor was not performing 
his work faithfully. Who is responsible?* As a rule the Contractor would 
be obliged, in order to escape responsibility, to prove that his work had 
been faultless. Court decisions on the question have been somewhat con- 
flicting. The student may investigate this feature of the failure of the 
Quebec Bridge (Aug. 29, 1907.) 

Would a firm which built pumping engines furnish a pump constructed 
in accordance with minute detailed plans furnished by an Engineer and 
guarantee it to deliver a definite amount of water per day? Discuss the 
case of a steel company erecting a bridge and guaranteeing the load it will 
carry. 

(A) It is hereby agreed that these specifications and the 
accompanying plans are intended to cooperate, so 
that any matter or thing shown by one and not by 
the other shall be of the same effect as if contained in 
or shown by both and shall be performed by the Con- 
tractor without extra charge. 

(B) The plans and specifications are intended to be ex- 
planatory of each other, but should any discrepancy 
appear or any misunderstanding arise as to the im- 
port of anything contained in either, the explanation 
of the Engineer shall be final and binding on the Con- 
tractor, and all directions and explanations required, 
alluded to, or necessary to complete any of the pro- 
visions of such specifications and give them due effect, 
will be given by the Engineer. 

* See "Code of Khammurabi " (Art. 42). 



44 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(C) These specifications and the accompanying plans are in- 
tended to require and include all work and material nec- 
essary and proper for the work contemplated. In case 
by inadvertence or otherwise, the plans or specifications 
omit to require some work or material necessary for 
that purpose, the Contractor shall, nevertheless, be re- 
quired to provide the same so that the work may be 
complete according to the true intent and purpose of 
the plans and specifications. 

31. Verification of Data. In how far should the Con- 
tractor be expected to accept the responsibility for data fur- 
nished him by the Engineer ? 

To illustrate: Plans for a pile and timber dock show hard bottom un- 
derlying eight feet of mud. The Contractor bases his bid on this infor- 
mation, but finds as construction progresses that the supposed hard bottom 
is only a thin layer of gravel. Can he be held to complete the dock at a 
greater expense to himself than was originally contemplated ? 

One of two courses is open to the Engineer in preparing 
specifications for work involving uncertain preliminary data: 

(a) To throw the responsibility of verification on the Con- 
tractor. In the above illustration it might have been easy for 
the Contractor to make the necessary preliminary investiga- 
tion, and he would have been the more likely to do it if the 
Engineer had so worded the statement in the plan or speci- 
fications as to make it appear that he was stating, not a fact, 
but what appeared to him to be a fact. 

(b) To assume the responsibility for data furnished. There 
are instances where the compilation of the data given on the 
plans represents weeks and months of patient investigation on 
the part of a large engineering force. For the Engineer under 
these circumstances to disclaim responsibility and expect the 
Contractor to verify all data furnished him is certainly unreason- 
able. Mr. John C. Wait (Eng. News, 1905, vol. 53, p. 595) 
quotes and commends a rather unique specification clause in 
which it is stated that the Engineer had investigated the strata 
and knew the situation to be as represented, but that if it should 



SPECIFICATIONS AND PLANS 45 

prove otherwise the Owner would make good the Contractor's 
loss. Failure to mention this responsibility has many times 
resulted in situations like the following (although court de- 
cisions vary somewhat) : 

United States Government engineers prepared plans and specifications 
for dredging a river in New England, stating in the specifications that the 
material to be moved consisted largely of sandy mud mixed with a little 
gravel. As the work progressed the Contractor found the supposed sand 
and gravel to be instead a stiff clay. He abandoned the work after a time, 
and was awarded damages by the Court of Claims.* (See Art. 43 for 
other illustrations.) 

(A) The material to be removed is believed to be , 

but bidders are expected to examine the work and to 
decide for themselves as to its character and to make 

their bids accordingly, as (the Owner) 

does not guarantee the accuracy of the description. 

(B) It is understood and agreed that the quantities given 
in these specifications are approximate only, and that 

no claim shall be made against (the Owner) 

on account of any excess or deficiency, ab- 
solute or relative, in the 'same. No allowance will be 
made for the failure of a bidder or of the Contractor to 
estimate correctly the difficulties attending the execu- 
tion of the work. 

(C) The Contractor agrees that he has satisfied himself 
by his own investigation and research regarding all 
the conditions affecting the work to be done and labor 
and material needed, and that his conclusion to ex- 
ecute this contract is based on such investigation and 
research, and not on the estimate of the quantities or 
other information prepared by the Engineer, and that 

he will make no claim against (the Owner) 

because any of the estimates, tests or repre- 
sentations of any kind affecting the work made by any 

* What is the Court of Claims, and why has it a peculiar interest to engineers 
and contractors? 



46 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

agent of (the Owner) may prove to 

be in any respect erroneous. 

CD) The quantities of work to be done and the materials 
to be furnished under this contract are estimated, as 

herein stated, approximately only, and (the 

Owner) is not to be held responsible for the 

data or information relative to the Engineer's Esti- 
mate of Quantities. The Contractor has judged for 
himself as to such quantities and each of them, and as 
to other circumstances affecting the costs of the perform- 
ance of this contract, and as to the accuracy of this esti- 
mate, and he will not at any time assert that there was 
any misunderstanding in regard to the depth of the ex- 
cavations to be made, or the nature, kind or amount of 
materials to be furnished for the work to be done. And 
he will not ask, demand, sue for, or seek to recover, for 
materials furnished or work done under this contract, 
any compensation beyond the amounts payable for 
the different classes of work herein enumerated, which 
shall be actually performed at the prices therefor, 
herein agreed upon and fixed. 

32. Copies Kept on Work. This is largely a clause of con- 
venience to the Engineer, but is designed also to induce care on 
the part of the Contractor. 

(A) Copies of the plans and specifications shall at all times 
be kept on file by the Contractor at readily accessible 
points along the line of the work. 



CHAPTER VII 

GENERAL CLAUSES 

The Engineer During Construction 

The subject matter of the General Clauses considered in this Chapter relates to 
the Engineer's decisions, his authority, and to superintendence or inspection in 
general. 

33. Decision of the Engineer. 

(a) On construction work, after the contract has been signed, 
the principal duties of the Engineer (many of these of course 
delegated by him to proper subordinates) are: 

(i) To lay the work out, fixing necessary lines, elevations, 
etc. 

(it) To make such measurements as will determine pay- 
ments to the Contractor. 

(Hi) To interpret the plans and specifications, in case of 
any real or seeming ambiguity. 

(iv) To see that the materials and workmanship furnished 
by the Contractor are in conformity with the design. 

Superintendence on the part of the Engineer must have been rather lax 
among the ancient Romans, if we are to judge from the following corre- 
spondence dating from the year 152 A.D. (Mauretania and Numidia were 
neighboring Roman colonies in Northern Africa.) 

" Varius Clemens, Governor of Mauretania, to Valerius Etruscus, Governor 
of Numidia: 

Varius Clemens greets Valerius Etruscus, and begs him in his own name 
and in the name of the township of Saldae, to dispatch at once the hydraulic 
Engineer of the third legion, Nonius Datus, with orders to finish the work, 
which he seems to have forgotten." 

"Report of Nonius Datus to the Magistrates of Salda: 

After leaving my quarters I met with brigands on my way, who robbed 
me of even my clothes, and wounded me severely. I succeeded, after the 
encounter, in reaching Saldae, where I was met by the governor, who, 

47 



48 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

after allowing me some rest, took me to the tunnel. There I found every- 
body sad and despondent; they had given up all hopes that the two op- 
posite sections of the tunnel would meet, because each section had already 
been excavated beyond the middle of the mountain, and the junction had 
not yet been effected. As always happens in these cases, the fault was 
attributed to the Engineer, as though he had not taken all the precautions 
to insure the success of the work. What could I have done better? I 
began by surveying and taking the levels of the mountain; I marked most 
carefully the axis of the tunnel across the ridge; I drew plans and sections 
of the whole work, which plans I handed over to Petronius Celer, the gover- 
nor of Mauretania; and to take extra precaution, I summoned the Con- 
tractor and his workmen, and began the excavation in their presence, with 
the help of two gangs of experienced veterans; namely, a detachment of 
marine infantry and a detachment of Alpine troops. What more could I 
have done? Well, during the four years I was absent at Lambaese, ex- 
pecting every day to hear the good tidings of the arrival of the water at 
Saldae, the Contractor and his assistant had committed blunder upon 
blunder; in each section of the tunnel they had diverged from the straight 
line, each toward his right, and had I waited a little longer before coming, 
Saldae would have possessed two tunnels instead of one."- For the out- 
come of the case the student is referred to Lanciani, "Ancient Rome," p. 
61; or his "Frontino," p. 544; or "C.I.L.," viii., 2728; or to Herschel, 
"Frontinus and the Water Supply of the City of Rome," p. 179. 

(b) The clause referring to the decision of the Engineer is one 
of the vital clauses in the specifications. While it is customary 
so to word the specifications as either tacitly or expressly to put 
all four of the above matters entirely in the hands of the En- 
gineer, the fact should be recognized that it is easily possible to 
draft a clause giving the Engineer so much power or authority 
that, if the terms of the contract were to be literally enforced, 
the Contractor would become simply an agent of the Owner. 
This situation is particularly to be avoided. Under the first 
head (laying out), so far as concerns simply questions of fact, 
it is unlikely that any serious or long continued dispute could 
arise. The question of payments (discussed in Chapter XI) is 
somewhat complicated at times with questions of extra work 
and of classification of material. The latter two points (in- 
terpretation and supervision) also involve many matters con- 
cerning which opinions might differ. 



THE ENGINEER DURING CONSTRUCTION 49 

(c) On a very few important pieces of construction work 
provision has been made for a Board of Arbitration, to which 
board either Contractor or Owner might appeal if dissatisfied 
with certain of the decisions of the Engineer which were based 
on his judgment or opinion. This Board in most cases has con- 
sisted of three persons, one selected by each party to the con- 
tract and the third by the other two.* Since such boards are 
expensive, and more often than not reduce themselves, in effect, 
to this third man, some few contracts have been so drawn as to 
provide instead for appeal to a single Arbitrator, generally an 
Engineer of recognized standing and probity. 

(d) It must be remembered, however, that a contract agree- 
ment to abide by the judgment or decision of a Board of Arbi- 
tration, or of a single Arbitrator, is no more binding on either 
party to the contract than is a similar agreement to abide by 
the judgment or decision of the Engineer. In other words, 
nothing of the sort could restrain either the Contractor or the 
Owner from taking the matter to the courts if he felt he had a 
grievance. 

But, should either Contractor or Owner seek to have a de- 
cision of the Engineer (or of a Board of Arbitration) over- 
ruled by the courts, it would be incumbent on him to prove 
that the decision in question was arrived at as the result of gross 
incompetence, dishonesty, bias or unfairness. It is therefore 
comparatively seldom that such matters find their way to the 
courts. The clause should preferably read "To prevent all 
disputes," rather than "In case of dispute." 

The ^tudent should comment on the following clauses: 
(i) From sewer specifications. "The Engineer in charge shall generally 
interpret the specifications and detail plans of the work, but should any 

* In a uniform building contract recently (1911) adopted by several organiza- 
tions of Chicago engineers and architects, provision is made for naming the third 
arbitrator in the contract. 

It is very seldom, even where a Board of Arbitration is provided for in the 
specifications, that any matters are actually referred to it for settlement. The ar- 
bitration principle has been much more fully developed in England than in the 
United States. 



50 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

question arise as to the true meaning, the decision of the Sewer Com- 
mittee shall be binding and conclusive." 

(ii) From dry-dock specifications. "The United States by its Civil 
Engineer in charge of the work or his authorized representative, shall at 
all times have full control and direction of all work under the contract." 

(Hi) "To prevent all suits and litigations it is further agreed by and 
between the parties to this contract that the Engineer shall in all cases de- 
termine the amounts of work done which are to be paid for under this con- 
tract; that he shall be the sole judge of the manner of construction, of the 
quality of the materials and of the interpretation of the specifications; 
that he shall decide all questions which may arise relative to the carrying 
out of this contract; and that his estimate of figures, measurements, direc- 
tions and decisions shall be final and conclusive, neither party to this con- 
tract having recourse to the courts or to the opinion of other experts." 

(iv) "The Engineer shall have entire charge of all forces employed under 
this contract, and shall direct their work and disposition, and shall order 
such forces increased or diminished as he shall deem expedient." 

(A) All the work done under this contract shall be done to 
the satisfaction of the Engineer, who shall in all cases 
determine the amount, quality, acceptability and 
fitness of the several amounts of work and materials 
which are to be paid for hereunder, and shall decide 
all questions which may arise as to the measurement of 
quantities and the fulfillment of this contract on the 
part of the Contractor, and shall determine all ques- 
tions respecting the true construction or meaning of 
the plans and specifications, and his determination 
and decision thereon shall be final and conclusive ; and 
such determination and decision, in case any question 
shall arise, shall be a condition precedent to the right of 
the Contractor to receive any money hereunder. 

(B) To prevent disputes and litigation the Engineer shall 
in all cases determine all questions which may arise as 
to the quality, character or quantity of the work and 
materials to be paid for under this contract, or as to 
the obligation of the Contractor to do any particular 
work or to furnish any particular materials, or as to the 
reasonable value of any additional work or materials 



THE ENGINEER DURING CONSTRUCTION 51 

required by the Engineer, or as to the deduction to be 
made from the contract price for the construction of 

the '. , by reason of any work or materials 

directed by the Engineer to be omitted, or as to the 
price to be paid for any duly authorized and ordered 
extra work, and any and all disputes, questions or 
doubts of whatever nature relative to the contract or 
to the obligations of the Contractor hereunder. His 
determination shall be final and binding on the Con- 
tractor and (the Owner) , except 

as hereinafter provided; and the Contractor shall in 
all cases where an appeal from the decision of the 
Engineer is provided and allowed herein, proceed or 
refrain from proceeding as the case may be, and with- 
out any delay obey the requirements of the Engineer 
pending such appeal. In case any question shall 

arise between the Contractor and (the 

Owner) touching the contract, the estimate 

and decision of the Engineer shall be a condition 
precedent to the right of the Contractor to receive any 
moneys under the contract. A determination or de- 
cision of the Engineer shall not be finally conclusive 

however upon either the Contractor or (the 

Owner) as to the reasonable value of work or 

materials additionally required as aforesaid, or omitted 
as aforesaid, or as to the price to be paid for any duly 
authorized extra work or as to the obligation of the 
Contractor to furnish or do, as part of this contract, 
any particular material or work required by the En- 
gineer, or as to the question whether (the 

Owner) is entitled to a deduction from the 

amount payable to the Contractor on account of any 
reduction in the amount of work to be done which may 
be ordered by the Engineer as herein provided, or as 
to the amount of such deduction. In every such 
case (then follows an outline of the pro- 



52 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

cedure necessary in case either Owner or Contractor 
wishes to appeal from the decision of the Engineer to 
that of a Board of Arbitration). 

34. Inspector. The author believes that the less said in 
the specifications as to the powers and duties of the inspector 
the better; that he should be mentioned, if at all, merely as a 
representative (or agent) of the Engineer; and that whatever 
power he has to accept or reject should be regarded simply as 
having been delegated to him by the Engineer. Many speci- 
fications state, for the Contractor's benefit, that one or more 
inspectors will be appointed. This seems unnecessary, except 
perhaps where he is to inspect the manufacture of material.* 
It is not infrequently provided that no work shall be done in 
the inspector's absence. 

Has the Engineer power to accept what the inspector has rejected, or 
vice versa? If he has this power should he use it and, if so, when? 

(A) An inspector employed by (the Owner) 

may be stationed by the Engineer on the work under 
contract to report whenever the Contractor appears to 
fail in carrying out the terms of the contract or speci- 
fications in any particular. Any advice which an 
inspector may give the Contractor shall in no wise be 
construed as binding the Engineer in any way or re- 
leasing the Contractor from the proper fulfillment of 
the terms of the contract as determined by the En- 
gineer. An inspector shall perform such other duties 
as the Engineer may indicate, but no inspector shall in 
any case act as foreman for the Contractor or interfere 
with the management of the work by the Contractor. 

(B) All material furnished under this contract will be 
subject to rigid inspection. The Contractor shall 
furnish free of cost the necessary test pieces and com- 
plete facilities including the necessary labor for the in- 

* Certain specifications as those for important steel structures, for wooden 
block pavements, etc., contain provision for inspection of material at its place 
of manufacture. 



THE ENGINEER DURING CONSTRUCTION 53 

spection and testing of all material and workmanship. 
The Engineer shall at all times have full access to all 
parts of the shop where material under his inspection 
is being manufactured. Inspection of the work done 
shall not relieve the Contractor of his obligation to 
furnish proper material and perform sound and reliable 
> work. 

35. Rejected Material. Material which is unsatisfactory 
and not conforming to the specifications is rejected, and it 
should be made the duty of the Contractor to remove the re- 
jected material from the work immediately. It is only proper 
that this material should be branded, if possible in such way 
as to make its identification easy in case the Contractor should 
attempt to smuggle it back. The rejected material still belongs, 
however, to the Contractor, and its usefulness to him for other 
purposes should not be impaired. 

When is material accepted when it is delivered on the work or not 
until it is built in? When does it cease to be the property of the Con- 
tractor ? 

(A) Any materials condemned or rejected by the Engineer 
as not conforming to these specifications may be 
branded or otherwise marked, and shall, on demand, 
be at once removed by the Contractor to a satisfactory 
distance from the work. 

(B) If any materials used in the work, or brought upon 
the ground, or selected for use in the work, shall be 
condemned by the Engineer on account of bad or im- 
proper workmanship, or as being unsuitable or not in 
conformity with the specifications, the Contractor 
shall forthwith remove from the work and its vicinity, 
without delay, all such rejected or condemned ma- 
terial of whatever kind, and upon his failure to do so 
within forty-eight (48) hours after having been so 
directed by the Engineer, the condemned material 

may be removed by (the Owner) 

and the cost of said removal deducted from any money 



54 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

that is then due or that may thereafter become due to 
the Contractor on account or by virtue of his con- 
tract, and no payment shall be made until such material, 
work or workmanship has been removed and proper 
materials and workmanship substituted therefor. 
36. Unnoticed Defects. 

(a) The aim and intent of the contract is that the Con- 
tractor shall furnish the Owner with a structure conforming in 
every detail with the design. The Engineer's final certificate 
should state that such a structure has been furnished. His 
progress certificates should not, as a rule, imply the absolute 
acceptance of any part. In other words, the structure is not 
formally turned over by the Contractor to the Owner as com- 
pleted until the date of the final certificate of the Engineer. 
(See Art. 58.) 

(6) In order to make this point (which is commonly under- 
stood) doubly clear it is customary to write in the specifications 
that the failure of the Engineer to condemn unsatisfactory 
work at any point shall not relieve the Contractor of his obliga- 
tion to furnish work and material in accordance with the speci- 
fications, and that any defects, previously unnoticed, shall be 
corrected by the Contractor whenever, previous to the issuance 
of the final certificate, they shall be called to his attention by 
the Engineer. 

(c) Certain specifications go further than this in reference to 
defects whose existence is only suspected, on account of their 
having been covered by subsequent work, stipulating that if, 
in such instance, the defect is found to exist, the expense of in- 
vestigation shall be borne by the Contractor, otherwise by the 
Owner. 

(^4) Material that does not conform to the specifications 
accepted through oversight may be rejected at any 
stage of the work. 

(B) Any defective work or material that may be discovered 
by the Engineer before the final acceptance of the work 
or before final payment has been made shall be removed 



THE ENGINEER DURING CONSTRUCTION 55 

and replaced by work and material which shall con- 
form to the spirit of the specifications; failure or 
neglect on the part of the Engineer to condemn or re- 
ject bad or inferior work or materials shall not be con- 
strued to imply acceptance of such work or materials. 
(C) Whenever required by the Engineer the Contractor 
shall furnish all tools, labor and materials necessary to 
make an examination of any work completed or in 
progress under these specifications. Should such work 
be found defective, the cost of making such examina- 
tion and of satisfactory reconstruction shall be borne 
by the Contractor; should the work be found to be 
satisfactory the cost to the Contractor of the exami- 
nation will be paid by (the Owner) 

37. Reception of Engineer's Directions. It is not to be ex- 
pected that the Contractor will be constantly present on the 
work. Contracts have been satisfactorily completed in which 
the Contractor was absent practically throughout. During his 
absence however there should always be on the work some 
person authorized by him to receive and execute the directions 
of the Engineer. 

(A) Whenever the Contractor is not present on any part 
of the work where it may be desired to give directions, 
orders shall be given by the Engineer, and shall be re- 
ceived and obeyed by the superintendent or foreman 
who may have charge of the particular work in refer- 
ence to which the orders are given. 

(B) The Contractor shall give his personal supervision to 
the faithful prosecution of the work and in case of his 
absence he shall have a competent representative or 
foreman on the work who shall follow without delay 
all instructions of the Engineer or his assistants in the 
prosecution and completion of the work and every part 
thereof, in conformity with this contract, and who shall 
have full authority to supply men, material and labor 
immediately. 



CHAPTER VIII 

GENERAL CLAUSES 

The Contractor and His Workmen 

The Contractor's obligations in respect to his workmen are outlined in the 
General Clauses in this Chapter.' 

38. Sanitary Provisions. If the work is located in close 
proximity to dwellings the Contractor should be obliged, in 
order to avoid a public nuisance, to erect for his men closets 
connected with a sewer, where practicable, and to enforce their 
use. Within the limits of the watershed of a stream or reser- 
voir whose water is used for drinking purposes, stringent regu- 
lation of sanitary matters is not infrequently necessary, which 
may involve much expense on the part of the Contractor.* 

(A) Necessary conveniences, properly secluded from public 
observation, shall be constructed where needed for 
the use of laborers on the work, and the use of such 
conveniences shall be strictly enforced. Such con- 
veniences shall be located, constructed and main- 
tained subject to the approval of the Engineer, and 
the collections therein shall be removed at such times 
and to such places as he shall direct. The Contractor 
shall obey and enforce such sanitary regulations as 
may be prescribed by the Board of Health. 

39. Sale of Intoxicants. It is becoming increasingly common 
to prohibit the sale or use of intoxicants along the line of the 
work. There can be no doubt that the enforcement of such a 
provision operates to the advantage of everyone concerned. 

(^4) The Contractor shall neither permit nor suffer the in- 
troduction or use of spirituous liquors upon or about 

* The Catskill Aqueduct contracts may be cited as requiring a maximum of 
attention to these matters. 

56 



THE CONTRACTOR AND HIS WORKMEN 57 

the works embraced in this contract or upon any 
grounds occupied by him. 

40. Discharge of Employees. It is often necessary that the 
Engineer give directions to some employee of the Contractor. 
Situations have arisen in which the employee refused to follow 
such directions or persisted in attempting portions of the 
work which he could not properly execute, or made himself 
generally objectionable. To properly deal with such cases it is 
common practice to insert a clause giving the Engineer the 
right (which need seldom be exercised) to require the discharge 
of employees of the Contractor either for incompetence or for 
disorderly conduct.* 

(-4) If any person employed by the Contractor on the 
work shall appear to the Engineer to be incompetent 
or to act in a disorderly or improper manner, such 
person shall be removed from the work immediately 
on the requisition of the Engineer, and shall not be 
employed on the work again except on written consent 
of the Engineer. 

(B) The Contractor shall employ only competent, skilful 
men to do the work, and whenever the Engineer shall 
notify the Contractor in writing that, in his opinion, 
any man on the work is incompetent, impertinent, dis- 
obedient, unfaithful, disorderly or otherwise unsatis- 
factory, such man shall be discharged from the work 

* The following clause is an extraordinary one, and should not be accepted as 
standard. (There are no italics in the original.) 

" No disorderly or incompetent person shall be employed by the Contractor 
upon this work, and the Engineer shall have the right to require the dismissal of 
such person. Should the Contractor use insulting or abusive language or be guilty 
of improper conduct to any employee of the Board the General "Superintendent shall 
have the right to notify said Contractor to remain away from the work or any part 
thereof, and should any Contractor guilty of such action refuse to comply with such 
notice then the General Superintendent will have the right to close down all work 
upon said contract until a satisfactory apology and assurance of proper action is 
given. ... In the event of the exclusion of the Contractor from his work, he shall 
appoint a competent person or persons to represent him. Any employee of the 
Board who uses abusive or insulting language to the Contractor, when such action 
is shown to the General Superintendent, will be removed from the work" 



58 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

and shall not again be employed on it except with the 
consent of the Engineer. 

41. Legal Restrictions. A Contractor engaged on public 
work is likely to be subjected, by reason of national, state * or 
local statutes, to certain further restrictions regarding his rela- 
tions to his employees, which would not affect him in his work 
for private individuals. Public work is generally more expen- 
sive than private work for this reason. 

It is customary, and in some states required, to insert in all 
public work specifications or contracts not only a reference to 
the law, but a substantial quotation from its provisions, and to 
emphasize the importance of the Contractor's responsibility in 
the matter. 

Labor laws cover in general the following three points (in 
addition to many other provisions having no relation to con- 
tract work) : 

(a) Citizenship of employees, forbidding the employment (on 
public work) of convicts, of aliens, or of any workmen except 
such as are legal residents or perhaps voters of the state or town. 
A few states and many towns and cities have such a law or 
ordinance. 

(b) Hours of employment, restricting these to a certain maxi- 
mum per day or week. Over half the states and the United 
States government have enacted laws covering this point. 

(c) Wages, not fixing a minimum wage, but in many states 
providing that the wages shall "not be less than the prevailing 
rate in the locality for similar services." The frequency of pay- 
ment is in many cases stipulated, and some laws contain a pro- 
hibition against " store pay," and against the Contractor's 
dictating to his men concerning where they shall board or 
lodge. 

* The laws of the state in which the work is being done, not of the state in 
which the contract is signed. The student would do well to inform himself re- 
garding labor laws affecting public work i his own state. Various publications 
of the United States Bureau of Labor give concise summaries of labor legislation 
throughout the country. Particularly valuable are the Twenty Second Annual 
Report and Bulletins Numbers 85, 91 and 97. 



THE CONTRACTOR AND HIS WORKMEN 59 

It has been stated that certain specifications for constructing a church 
edifice required of the workmen that they refrain from the use of profane 
or indecent language, as well as from the use of strong drink or tobacco, 
during working hours. The difficulty involved in securing such Utopian 
conditions would seem to consist chiefly in the enforcement of the pro- 
hibitions. 

(A) (The following conformed, in 1911, to Massachusetts 
law in relation to public works contracts.) 

The Contractor shall not request or require any laborer, 
workman or mechanic in his employ, or the employ of 
any subcontractor or other person doing or contracting 
to do the whole or a part of the work to be done in this 
Commonwealth, to work more than eight hours in any 
one calendar day; and shall give preference in employ- 
ment, first, to citizens of Massachusetts, second, to 
other citizens of the United States; and shall allow all 
employees on said work to lodge, board and trade where 
they choose; and, unless otherwise authorized, in 
writing, by the Commissioner, shall pay all employees 
on any such work no less wages than is customary in 
said City in their several employments; and shall not 
obstruct any other person in doing work for the City. 
(Pipe Sewers and Drains Contract, City of Boston.) 

(B) (*The following conformed with California law in 1910.) 
It is hereby stipulated that the said Party of the First 

Part shall forfeit, as a penalty, to the said City of 
, ten (10) dollars for each laborer, work- 
man or mechanic employed in the execution of this 
contract by the said Party of the First Part or by any 
subcontractor under said Party of the First Part upon 
the work in this contract specified for each calendar 
day during which such laborer, workman or mechanic 
is required or permitted to labor more than eight 
hours in violation of the provisions of an Act of the 
Legislature of the State of California entitled "an 'act 
limiting the hours of service of laborers, workmen and 



60 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

mechanics employed upon the public works of or work 
done for the State of California or of or for any 
political subdivision thereof; imposing penalties for 
violation of the provisions of said act, and providing 
for the enforcement thereof," approved March 10, 
1903, so far as the said act may be applicable to the 
said contract. 

(C) (The following conformed to New York law in 1911.) 
The Contractor shall comply with the provisions of the 
"Labor Law" as amended. No laborer, workman or 
mechanic in' the employ of the Contractor, sub- 
contractor or other person doing or contracting to do 
the whole or part of the work contemplated by the 
contract shall be permitted or required to work more 
than eight hours in any one calendar day, except in 
case of extraordinary emergency caused by fire, flood 
or danger to life or property. The wages to be paid 
for a legal day's work to all classes of such laborers, 
workmen or mechanics upon such work shall not be 
less than the prevailing rate for a day's work in the 
same trade or occupation in the locality where such 
work is being constructed. Each such laborer, work- 
man or mechanic shall receive the prevailing rate of 
wages. This contract shall be void and of no effect 
unless the person or corporation making or performing 
the same shall comply with the provisions of Sections 
3 and 14 of the Labor Law. . . . The Contractor shall 
punctually pay his employees who shall be engaged 
on the work covered by this contract, in cash and not 
in script, commonly known as store money, and he 
shall not, directly or indirectly, conduct or carry on 
what is commonly known as a company store if there 
shall at the time be any store selling supplies within 
two miles of the place where this contract is being exe- 
cuted. (Catskill Aqueduct contract, New York City, 
1911.) 



CHAPTER DC 

GENERAL CLAUSES 

The Contractor's Miscellaneous Responsibilities 

In this Chapter are grouped, for convenience of discussion, a variety of 
General Clauses defining the Contractor's responsibility in matters of accidents to 
persons or property, unforeseen difficulties, local ordinances, patent rights, etc. 

Despite the fact that the element of uncertainty in it is at 
times large,* contracting is not gambling. Specifications may 
be, and should be, so carefully drawn by the Engineer that this 
element of uncertainty is reduced to a minimum. There will 
still remain, however, a number of important risks which it is 
customary and right that the Contractor should assume. Many 
of these are more strictly responsibilities than risks, in that they 
can be provided for in advance. Some others are risks against 
which it is possible for the Contractor, if he so elects, to insure 
himself. The aim sought in this fixing of responsibility is that 
of making the Contractor what the law terms an "independent 
contractor" or one who is accountable for his own acts, rather 
than one who is simply an agent of the Owner. 

42. Injury or Damage to Persons or Property. 

(a) Property damage may be entailed simply by the execu- 
tion of the contract; for this of course the Contractor could not 
equitably be held. 

As illustrations of this form of damage may be cited the depreciation in 
value of a building plot as the direct result of a change in grade of the con- 
tiguous highway, or the effect of constructing a railroad very close to a 
handsome residence, or the flooding of lowlands above a bridge built with 
insufficient waterway. 

(b) Injury or damage to persons or property may, however, 
be due to negligence or carelessness on the part of the Con- 

* Obviously, the risks involved in subsurface construction are relatively greater 
than those in connection with most open air structures. 

61 



62 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

tractor (or his employees or agents) . Injuries to persons * will 
be less likely to occur if the Contractor erects temporary guard 
railings, or displays warning signals or lights, etc. Similarly, 
damage to property can in most cases be prevented by proper 
care on the part of the Contractor. The injury or damage 
clause should be so worded, however, that it cannot be con- 
strued as prescribing to the Contractor just how he shall pro- 
tect persons or property from danger, it should simply state 
clearly and emphatically that the responsibility for accident 
due to the Contractor's carelessness or neglect or failure to 
warn of danger shall fall on his shoulders and not on the Owner's. 
Very delicate and complicated legal questions, such as the re- 
sponsibility for the settlement of buildings adjoining deep 
excavations, etc., have frequently found their way to the courts 
in this connection. 

That the laws of some of the ancients were severe and unrelenting in 
respect to damage resulting from defective construction would appear 
from the following extracts from the "Code of Khammurabi" (dating from 
about 2000 B.C.) : 

"If a builder build a house for a man and has not made his work strong, 
and the house has fallen in and killed the owner of the house, then that 
builder shall be put to death. If it kill the son of the owner of the house, 
the son of that builder shall they kill. If it kill the slave of the owner of 
the house, a slave equivalent to that slave to the owner of the house 
he shall give. If the property of the owner of the house it destroys, what- 
soever it destroys he shall make good, and as regards the house he built 
and it fell, with his own property he shall rebuild the ruined house. If he 
build a house for a man and did not set his work and the walls topple over 
that builder from his own money shall make that wall strong." 

These are of interest also in connection with the "sufficiency of the 
plans." (See Art. 30.) 

(A) The Contractor shall erect and maintain barricades, 
red lanterns and danger signals, and shall be respon- 
sible for any and all accidents that may occur by reason 
of the work. The Contractor shall be responsible for 

* The word persons includes, of course, the Contractor's employees. Employers' 
liability laws, recently enacted in many states, affect the Contractor vitally at 
this point. 



THE CONTRACTOR'S MISCELLANEOUS RESPONSIBILITIES 63 

any and all damage that may be done or caused to 
public or private property by reason of the prosecution 
of the work. 

(B) During the performance of the work herein set forth the 
Contractor will place proper guards upon and around 
the same for the prevention of accidents, and at 
night will put up and keep suitable and sufficient lights, 

and he will indemnify and save harmless (the 

Owner) against and from all suits and actions 

of every name and description, brought against them, 

and all costs and damages to which (the 

Owner) may be put on account or by reason 

of any injury or alleged injury to the person or property 
of another, resulting from negligence or carelessness 
in the performance of the work, or in guarding the 
same, or from any improper materials used in its' 
prosecution, or by or on account of any act or omis- 
sion of the Contractor or his agents, and that the whole 
or so much of the moneys due to the Contractor under 
or by virtue of this contract as shall be or may be con- 
sidered necessary by (the Owner) 

shall and may be retained by (him) 

until all such suits and claims for damages as afore- 
said shall have been settled and evidence to that effect 
furnished to the satisfaction of (the Owner) 

(C) The Contractor shall put up and maintain such bar- 
riers and red lights as will effectually prevent any 

accident in consequence of his work, for which 

(the Owner) might be liable, and the Con- 
tractor shall be liable for all damages occasioned in 
any way by his own acts or neglect or that of his agents, 
employees or workmen. 

43. Unforeseen Difficulties. 

(a) This phrase may, according to the nature of the work, 
include an almost interminable number and variety of fortuitous 
occurrences likely to add to the cost of the work to the Con- 



64 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

tractor, and perhaps to delay him as well. (See Art. 52.) The 
rock may prove tougher to excavate than he had anticipated, 
the sand foundation less firm, labor more difficult to obtain or 
less efficient, material more expensive, the river higher than 
usual at the season, etc. 

(b) It is common to provide a sort of blanket clause covering 
" unforeseen difficulties, obstructions or encumbrances" in 
general, and, without specifically naming any, to throw the re- 
sponsibility for meeting them, one and all, on the Contractor. 
He would naturally provide something in his original bid to 
cover these difficulties. Sometimes damage from the ever- 
troublesome elements is mentioned separately because of the 
fact that in some contracts the chance of loss from fire or flood, 
wind or lightning constitutes the chief risk and can ordinarily 
be insured against.* 

The Contractor probably could not, even under such a clause, be re- 
quired to make good the damage caused by "Acts of God" such as the 
Johnstown Flood, the San Francisco Earthquake, and similar almost un- 
precedented catastrophes or "Acts of the Public Enemy," meaning the 
ravages of an invading army. 

A typical case may be cited, in which a bridge Contractor sought to re- 
cover from a City damages for the delay occasioned by the presence of a 
large iron water pipe crossing a stream at a point where the Contractor 
had to sink a crib for the bridge he was building under contract with the 
City. The Contractor had no right to remove the pipe, as it was there by 
permission of the City. The claim set up by the City was that the pipe 
was one of the unforeseen obstructions, concerning which the Contractor 
took his chances. The court held, however, that the obstruction was 
legalized by the City to a certain extent, and that it could not, therefore, 
be removed by the Contractor, without his making himself liable for tres- 
pass. The court held, further, that the proper course for the City to 
pursue in such case, after it had been notified by the Contractor of the 
difficulty, would have been either to revoke the water company's license, 
or to make some arrangement so that the Contractor could proceed. The 
court, therefore, decided that the City was liable for the damages to the 
Contractor resulting from the delay, after he had notified the City of the 
obstruction. 

A rip-rapped embankment intended to serve as an approach to a bridge 

* In many building contracts the Owner assumes a part or all of the fire risk. 



THE CONTRACTOR'S MISCELLANEOUS RESPONSIBILITIES 65 

across a creek is nearly completed. The bottom seems stable, and the 
work is progressing to the satisfaction of everyone. Suddenly a large part 
of the embankment settles out of place, and has to be rebuilt. Shall such 
an accident be considered an unforeseen difficulty or shall the Contractor be 
compensated ? 

(A) All loss or damages arising out of the nature of the 
work to be done under the contract, or from any un- 
foreseen obstructions or difficulties which may be en- 
countered in the prosecution of the same, or from the 
action of the elements, or from incumbrances on the 
line of the work, shall be sustained by the Contractor. 

(B) The Contractor shall protect his work and materials 
from damage due to the nature of the work, the action 
of the elements, the carelessness of other Contractors, 
or from any cause whatever, until the completion and 
acceptance of the work. Should any damage occur, 
he shall repair it at his own expense, and leave the 

work to the satisfaction of (the Owner) 

in every particular. 

44. Local Ordinances, Permits, Licenses, etc. The re- 
sponsibility of compliance with all laws or ordinances affecting 
the work of construction is usually and properly placed on the 
Contractor. In addition to this, if it is thought desirable, he 
should be required to secure such permits (as for street open- 
ings), licenses, etc., as may be necessary. On all of these points 
it would be entirely possible for the Contractor to inform him- 
self before signing the contract, so that the only risk he would 
take would be concerning any laws which might be enacted 
while the work was in progress. 

The student may mention any laws or ordinances which would be likely 
to affect a Contractor engaged in dredging a navigable river, in excavating 
rock, hi the erection of a city building, in paving a street. 

(A) In all the operations connected with the work herein 
specified all State laws and local by-laws or ordinances 
controlling or limiting in any way the actions of those 



66 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

engaged in the work, or affecting the method of doing 
the work or materials applied to it, must be respected 
and strictly complied with. 

(B) The Contractor shall keep himself fully informed of all 
existing and future local ordinances and regulations, 
state and national laws in any manner affecting the 
work herein specified, and he shall at all times observe 
and comply with and shall cause all his agents and 
employees to observe and comply with said ordinances, 
laws and regulations, and shall protect and indemnify 

(the Owner) and (his) 

officers and agents against any claim or 

liability arising from or based on the violation of any 
such laws, ordinances, regulations, etc. 

45. Patent Rights. These may cover materials, appliances, 
or processes used in construction.* (The student should cite an 
illustration of each.) The clause should be so worded as to 
make it clear that the Contractor is: 

(a) To pay all fees or royalties. 

(b) To defend any suits which may be brought for infringe- 
ment. 

(A) The Contractor agrees to indemnify and save harmless 

(the Owner) against all loss or 

damage, claims and demands, cost and charges that 
may arise or accrue by reason of the infringement of 
any patent or the violation of the rights of any person 
under letters patent in the performance of this con- 
tract, or by reason of the manner in which the same is 
performed, or through the use of any patented article 
or device. 

(B) The Contractor stipulates, covenants and agrees for 
himself, his heirs, executors, administrators, suc- 

* For comments on the advisability of specifying patented articles see Art. 64. 
An idea of the increasing number of patents affecting a single department of civil 
engineering may be obtained by referring to such a list as that published in Muni- 
cipal Engineering, vol. 41, p. 410; vol. 42, p. 68, and vol. 43, p. 127; or in the 
Good Roads Year Book for 1912. 



THE CONTRACTOR'S MISCELLANEOUS RESPONSIBILITIES 67 

cessors and assigns, that he has the right, power, 
authority and license to furnish all materials and do 
all the work in said specifications as hereinbefore de- 
scribed, and that he and his heirs, executors and 
administrators, successors and assigns will, at his and 
their own cost and charge, defend any and all actions 

and proceedings that may be brought against 

(the Owner) for infringement of patent rights, 

by reason of the use of any such materials or articles 
furnished, or work done as aforesaid: and that he and 

they will indemnify and save harmless (the 

Owner) from any judgment that may be re- 
covered against them or either of them for infringe- 
ment of patents or patent rights by reason of the use 
of said articles or materials for the doing of said work 
as aforesaid. 

46. Establishment and Preservation of Survey Points. - 
This is a clause of convenience only, requiring: 

(a) That the Contractor shall furnish labor or material 
necessary to the establishing of certain survey points. This 
provision is not of course necessary hi many specifications. 

(b) That the Contractor shall take all precautions to pre- 
serve points given him by the Engineer. A specific forfeit 
of a sum of money for each point unnecessarily disturbed is 
at least an incentive to care on the part of the Contractor's 
employees. 

(A) All lines and grades will be given by the Engineer, but 
the Contractor shall provide such material and give 
such assistance therefor as may be required by the 
Engineer, and the marks so given shall be carefully 
preserved. 

(B) The Contractor shall furnish, free of charge, all stakes 
and such temporary structures as may be necessary for 
marking and maintaining points and lines given by 
the Engineer for the building of the work, and shall 
give said Engineer such facilities and materials for 



68 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

marking said lines and points as he may require, and 
the Engineer's marks must be carefully preserved. 
47. Public Travel. This is another of the clauses mentioned 
in Art. 9 which might be considered as not belonging strictly 
to the group called "general." Under this head it should be 
made clear, for example, as to whether or not the Contractor 
will be allowed to exclude the public entirely from the work 
(which he would generally prefer to do on account of the saving 
in expense and annoyance), or, if otherwise, how much, if any, 
of the work at a time may be closed to public travel. All classes 
of traffic must in some instances be considered, persons traveling 
on foot, and persons or freight being transported in convey- 
ances, by land or water. 

(A) Public travel shall not be needlessly inconvenienced, 
nor shall it be wholly obstructed at any point without 
the written consent of the Engineer, in which case the 
Contractor shall place plain and properly worded 
signs at the nearest cross streets or wherever the public 
can pass around the obstruction by the shortest and 
easiest route. 

(B) The Contractor shall make suitable and adequate 
provision, satisfactory to the Engineer, for the safe 
and free passage of persons and vehicles by, over or 
under the work while it is in progress. 



CHAPTER X 

GENERAL CLAUSES 

Progress of Work 

The group of General Clauses that, directly or indirectly, touch on the progress 
of the work are included in this Chapter. Among these are a clause fixing import- 
ant dates, one prohibiting work at certain times, one outlining the procedure in 
case the Contractor abandons operations, one giving the Owner the right to order 
the work temporarily discontinued, and two clauses covering delays and the con- 
sequential damages. 

48. Certain Fixed Dates. 

(a) It is generally advisable that a time be fixed for beginning 
work under a contract, in order that the Contractor may not 
delay in starting until it is too late to do the work satisfactorily. 
A reasonable interval, varying with the magnitude of the work 
(seldom less than a week or more than a month), in which to 
collect his equipment, materials and working force, should be 
allowed him after the contract is signed. 

(b) Fixing a limit to the time allowed for completing a con- 
tract is essential, else the work may drag on indefinitely. Some 
contracts mention a period of time (as a certain number of 
days), within which the work is to be finished. The word 
"days" used in this connection has been held to mean "working 
days," and is somewhat indefinite. A more precise term is 
"calendar" days. The mention of a definite date for com- 
pletion is doubtless more precise still, and admits of no argu- 
ment. 

(c) On very large and important pieces of construction work, 
especially where a number of sections are being completed 
under separate contracts, a schedule of progress is not infre- 
quently outlined in the specifications, furnishing a standard by 
which to define normal progress. 

69 



70 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

The student may criticize the following clause: 

"The Contractor shall commence and prosecute the work at such points, 
at such times and with such forces as the Engineer may direct." 

(A) The work shall be begun within ten (10) days from the 
date of the signing of the contract, and shall be com- 
pleted within sixty (60) days from said date. 

(B) The Contractor shall begin work not later than July 
ist, 1913, and shall complete the entire work not later 
than Dec. ist, 1913. 

(C) The Contractor shall commence the work of this con- 
tract on the ground within thirty days from the date of 
award of this contract. The whole work shall be com- 
pleted and ready for use on or before Oct. i5th, 1914. 

(D) The Contractor shall commence the construction of 
the work to be done under this contract at four (4) 
different places on ten (10) days written notice from 
the Engineer, and shall complete the same within the 
time specified in his proposal, it being expressly un- 
derstood and agreed that the time of beginning, rate 
of progress and time of completion of the work are 
essential conditions under this contract. 

49. Work Prohibited When. 

(a) Almost all specifications forbid the Contractor requiring 
his men to work on Sundays or legal holidays, although the pro- 
hibition is properly so qualified as not to apply in cases of danger 
to property, health or life.* 

(b) Night work of certain kinds (hydraulic dredging, pump- 
ing or riveting, for example) may be objectionable to near-by 
residents. Certain kinds of work cannot be well done or satis- 
factorily inspected by artificial light. 

(c) Some work cannot be properly done under extreme weather 
conditions. 

The student may mention work which cannot be successfully prosecuted 
during intense cold weather; during moist weather; during very dry 
weather. 

* Laws in many states cover this point. 



PROGRESS OF WORK 71 

(d) The specifications should plainly state, for the Contrac- 
tor's benefit, just when he will not be permitted to work. 

(A) No work shall be done between the hours of 6 P.M. and 
7 A.M., nor on Sunday, except such as is necessary for 
the proper care and protection of work already per- 
formed or except in case of an emergency and then 
only with the permission of the Engineer. 

(B) No night or Sunday work requiring the presence of an 
Engineer or inspector will be permitted, except in case 
of emergency, and then only to such extent as is ab- 
solutely necessary, and with the written permission of 
the Engineer, provided that this clause does not 
operate in case of a gang organized for regular and 
continuous night work. In case any work is per- 
formed at night the Contractor shall provide sufficient 
artificial light, in the judgment of the Engineer, to 
properly prosecute the work. No Sunday work will 
be permitted except in case of emergency and then 
only with the consent of the Engineer and to such an 
extent as he may judge to be necessary. 

(C) In case any work is to be done at night the Contractor 
shall give notice to the Engineer at least two days 
before such work is started. Only such classes of 
work shall be done at night as can be properly in- 
spected, and adequate light and facilities for inspec- 
tion shall be supplied. . . . No concrete shall be placed 
or other work done which is subject to damage by 
frost during the winter months, between December 
first and April first. 

50. Abandonment. 

(a) A Contractor may, before his contract is completed: 

(i) Actually remove all of his laborers, materials and tools 
with the deliberate purpose of giving up the contract. The 
common law would recognize this alone as constituting 
abandonment, construing it as a breach of contract on the 
part of the Contractor. 



72 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(ii) Withdraw most of his men, leaving the work in such 
shape that any real progress is impossible. 

(Hi) Willfully and persistently disregard the explicit direc- 
tions of the Engineer and attempt to construct the work 
without regard to the plans or specifications. 
(b) Under any of the above circumstances it is or may be con- 
sidered that he has " abandoned" the work, and specifications 
should provide for dealing with the situation (after reasonable 
notice to the Contractor) in either of two ways: 

(i) The contract may be declared null and void, the 
Contractor paid what money, if any, is due him, and for- 
mally discharged. This leaves the Owner free to consult 
his own pleasure in respect to completing the work. (See 
Art. i.) 

(ii) The contract may be allowed to remain in force while 
the Owner employs other persons to complete the work either 
by contract or day's work. If this costs less than the balance 
due on the original contract, the difference is paid to the Con- 
tractor, otherwise by him or by his bondsmen. 

(A) Should the Contractor neglect or abandon the work, or 
if at any time the Engineer be convinced that the work 
is unreasonably delayed, or that the conditions of the 
contract are being willfully violated, or executed care- 
lessly or in bad faith, he may notify the Contractor in 
writing, and if his notification be without effect within 
twenty-four hours after the delivery thereof, then and 
in that case the Contractor shall discontinue all work 
under the contract, and the Engineer shall have full 
authority and power to immediately purchase and hire 
materials, tools, labor and machinery for the comple- 
tion of the contract at the expense of the Contractor 
or his sureties or both; or the said contract may be 
declared null and void, and the security bond and the 
retained percentage and the materials built into the 
work and the materials delivered shall then become 
the property of (the Owner). 



PROGRESS OF WORK 73 

(B) If the work under this contract shall be abandoned, or 
if at any time the Engineer shall be of the opinion, 

and shall so certify in writing to (the Owner) 

that the said work is unnecessarily or un- 
reasonably delayed, or that the Contractor is willfully 
violating any of the conditions or agreements of this 
contract, or is not executing said contract in good 
faith, or fails to show such progress in the execution of 
the work as will give reasonable grounds for anticipat- 
ing its completion within the required time, 

(the Owner) shall 'have the power to notify 

the said Contractor in writing to discontinue all work, 
or any part thereof, under this contract; and there- 
upon the said Contractor shall immediately cease to 

continue said work or such part thereof as 

(the Owner) shall designate, and 

(the Owner) shall thereupon have the right, 

at (his) discretion, to contract with 

other parties for the delivery of any material or com- 
pletion of any part or all of the work left uncompleted 
by said Contractor, or for the correction of the whole 
or any part of said work; and in case the expense so 

incurred by said (Owner) is less 

than the sum which is or which would have been 
payable under this contract if the same had been com- 
pleted by the said Contractor, then the said Con- 
tractor shall be entitled to receive the difference; and 
in case such expense shall exceed the last said sum, 
then the Contractor shall, on demand, pay the amount 

of such excess to the said (Owner) ; 

but such expense to be paid by the Contractor shall 
not exceed the amount of security for the performance 
of this contract. 
51. Right to Suspend. 

(a) During the progress of the work contingencies may arise 
making it necessary that the Owner ask the Contractor to 



74 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

suspend operations for a longer or shorter period. In the early 
days of railroad building it was not uncommon for the railroad 
companies to award construction contracts before they had 
secured all the necessary right of way. Unexpected difficulties 
(financial and otherwise) not having any direct connection with 
the Contractor's work sometimes require that the Owner stop 
the work for a time. 

(b) To provide for contingencies of this sort there has been 
introduced into some specifications a clause giving the Owner 
the right to shut down or suspend the work at will. That the 
exercise of such a right might work a gross injustice to the Con- 
tractor is readily seen. A complete shut-down necessitates the 
proper storage or protection of the plant, the discharge of an 
organized body of workmen and the enforced idleness of capital. 
In justice to the Contractor such clauses should (and some- 
times do) contain provision for reimbursing him in some way for 
such losses as an enforced suspension of the work in question 
must entail. 

The student should clearly discriminate between giving the Owner the 
right to suspend work for the various reasons above mentioned and the 
right given in Art. 50, (b) . 

Criticize the following, from paving specifications: 

"The Highway Commissioner shall have the right to suspend the work 
at any time whenever in his judgment it becomes necessary." 

(A) (The Owner) reserves the right of suspending 

the whole or any part of the work to be done hereunder, 

at any time, if (he) shall deem it for 

(his) interest to do so. If the work 

is so suspended, the Contractor shall be entitled to an 
extension of the time for completing the work equal to 
the time during which the work shall have been sus- 
pended by the order of (the Owner) , 

and (the Owner) shall pay to the 

Contractor the actual cost (including a reasonable 
rental for space occupied), to be ascertained and 



PROGRESS OF WORK 75 

certified monthly by the Engineer, of storing and 
protecting any part or parts of the plant which shall 
have been shipped from the place of manufacture or 
which shall be ready for shipment, together with in- 
terest at the rate of five (5) per cent per annum for 
the period during which the work shall be suspended 
on the twenty (20) per cent reserved from the monthly 
estimates made previous to the date when work is 
ordered suspended. 
52. Extension of Time. 

(a) Certain delays, impossible to foresee, occur in connection 
with almost all construction projects. The most frequently re- 
curring result from the action of the elements, weather con- 
ditions, labor troubles, failure to secure material promptly and 
the like. For some of these causes it would be only fair to 
grant an extension of time (see Art. 43), but it is not always easy 
to state just which of these will and which will not be con- 
sidered legitimate causes for delay. Delays caused directly by 
the Owner, whether or not they involve actual suspension, are 
of course beyond the Contractor's power to prevent. The death 
of the Contractor has been held not to be legitimate cause for 
delay. A very few specifications, notably those used in the con- 
struction of portions of New York City's Catskill Aqueduct, 
contain a definite statement that an extension of time will not 
be allowed for any cause whatever. 

(6) There are four points to be made clear in such a clause, 
namely: 

(i) Enumerate as far as possible any future occurrences 
for which it is to be understood that the Owner will or will 
not be willing to grant an extension of time. 

(ii) State that an extension of time shall not be construed 
as weakening the original contract in any particular. It might 
otherwise be held by the bondsmen (see Arts, n, 29) that 
they were no longer obligated. Stated in legal terms, the ex- 
pression would be that any delay granted by the Owner 
should not operate as a "waiver of his rights" to insist on the 



76 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

performance of the contract, in spite of the fact that he had, 
in substance, permitted the Contractor to break it. 

(Hi) Provide that the Contractor shall give formal notice, 
at the time it occurs, of any such delay, with full particulars 
as to cause and duration. 

(iv) Stipulate that no additional compensation will be 
allowed the Contractor for any losses occasioned him by' 
the delays, except in cases of actual suspension. (See illus- 
trations under next clause.) 

(-4) " Should the Contractor be delayed in the prosecution 
of the work by the act, neglect or default of the Owner, 
of the Architects, or of any other Contractor employed 
by the Owner upon the work, or by any damage caused 
by fire or other casualty for which the Contractor is 
not responsible, or by the combined action of work- 
men in no wise caused by or resulting from default or 
collusion on the part of the Contractor, then the time 
herein fixed for the completion of the work shall be 
extended for a period equivalent to the time lost by 
reason of any or all of the causes aforesaid, which ex- 
tended period shall be determined and fixed by the 
Architect: but no such allowance of time shall be 
made unless a claim therefor is presented in writing to 
the Architect within forty-eight hours of the occurrence 
of the delay." From standard building contract of the 
American Institute of Architects. 

(B) If the Contractor is obstructed or delayed in the prose- 
cution or completion of the work by reason of the 
neglect, delay or default of any other Contractor having 
a contract with (the Owner) for adjoin- 
ing or contiguous work, or by reason of any damage 
that may happen thereto by the unusual action of the 
elements, or by reason of the abandonment of the 
work by the employees in a general strike, or by reason 

of any delay on the part of (the Owner) 

in doing the work or furnishing the material 



PROGRESS OF WORK 77 

to be done and furnished by (the Owner) 

, the Contractor shall have no claim for 

damages for any such cause or delay, but he shall be 
entitled to such extension of the time herein specified 
for the completion of the work as the Engineer shall de- 
termine to be just and proper, provided however that 
such claim for such extension of time is made by the 
Contractor in writing to the Engineer within one week 
from the time when any such cause for delay occurs. 
(C) The Contractor shall not be entitled to any claims for 
damages from any hindrance or delay, from any cause 
whatever, in the progress of the work, or any portion 
thereof, but when such hindrance or delay results from 
causes entirely beyond the control of the Contractor, 
said hindrance or delay, excepting such as may from 
time to time result from ordinary and not unusual 
weather conditions for the season of the year when he 
is at work, may entitle the Contractor to such an ex- 
tension of time for completing the contract as may be 
determined by the Engineer, provided the Contractor 
shall have given notice in writing of the cause of the 
detention. 

53. Failure to Complete Punctually. The student should 
realize that to compel a Contractor (or in fact either party to a 
contract of any description) to fulfil the terms of his contract is 
well-nigh impossible.* There are, therefore, no means by which 
either Owner or Engineer can actually force a Contractor, even 
under a strong and carefully worded contract, to complete a 
piece of work within the agreed time. 

(a) As an illustration, suppose that a contract provided for 
the erection of a small bridge of simple construction, and that 
the time limit for completion named in the specifications (or 
contract) was six months.! If the Contractor had not finished 

* Only in rare instances can " specific performance " be enforced, 
t Had no time limit been mentioned the courts would hold that the Contractor 
was bound to complete within a "reasonable" time. 



78 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

the bridge at the end of the six months whether or not he 
did so at a later date he would not have carried out the terms 
of his contract. In such event the Owner might have a case 
against him for " breach of contract," and could, if he thought it 
advisable, take the matter to the courts and sue the Contractor 
for damages. Under these circumstances it is probable that 
the courts would hold that the Contractor must make good any 
money loss which the Owner could prove he had suffered by 
the Contractor's failure to complete the bridge according to the 
terms of the contract. 

(&) But suppose instead that the Owner, realizing the futility 
of attempting to compel the Contractor to live up to the terms 
of his contract, yet not wishing to be under the necessity of 
appealing to the courts, had provided in the contract (or specifica- 
tions) that the Contractor should, in the event of his not finish- 
ing on time, forfeit, as a penalty, either a large single sum of 
money or a sum which increased with each day's delay. In 
case the Contractor failed to complete on time the Owner might 
now attempt to collect the sum provided for. The Contractor 
would perhaps object to making the payment and the case 
would go to the courts as before. Decisions in many similar 
cases have been that since forfeiture of the money was held over 
the Contractor's head as a form of penalty (or punishment) and 
since they (the courts) alone had the right to inflict punishment, 
the money could not be collected. The courts will allow a 
person suffering from a breach of contract to collect only such 
reasonable money damages as he can show he has suffered.* 

Courts are, moreover, jealous of their rights, and are apt to 
discourage any attempt to settle damages before they have 
accrued. 

(c) To avoid the annoyance of an appeal to the courts the 
following expedient is now commonly adopted. A reasonable 
sum (generally per diem) is mentioned in the specifications as 
" agreed and liquidated damages" which the Owner will suffer 

* One exception to this ruling is in the case of breach of promise to marry in 
which event injured feelings or reputation may sometimes be converted into cash. 



PROGRESS OF WORK 79 

by reason of the failure to finish on time, and "not by way of 
penalty." Sometimes it is added for emphasis that "time is of 
the essence of the contract." This generally discourages the 
Contractor from going to law, and will be upheld in the courts, 
if it can be plainly shown that the amount named was reasonable 
and was arrived at as the result of an attempt made in good 
faith to estimate beforehand the actual damage that such a 
delay would involve. 

(d) It is not at all necessary that a reciprocal relation (penalty 
and bonus) be established. The bonus has a place in civil 
engineering specifications, and is but rarely found outside of 
contracts for pumping engines, etc. 

The contract price for a piece of work was $2700. The Contractor 
finished it much later than he agreed to, and the Owner's damages, based 
on a per diem forfeit provided in the contract, amounted to $2100, leaving 
the Contractor $600 for his work. The case was taken to the courts for 
adjustment. 

A general Contractor entered into an agreement with the United States 
Government to build a structure in Pennsylvania, which he was to com- 
plete within seven months. The contract provided that the Contractor 
should pay the Government $10 for each day that the work remained un- 
finished beyond the seven months. The contract also contained the fol- 
lowing clause: "Unavoidable delays are such as result from causes which 
are undoubtedly or may reasonably be presumed to be beyond the control 
of the Contractor, such as acts of Providence, unusual storms, fires (not the 
result of negligence), fortuitous events, inevitable accidents, etc. Delays 
caused by the Acts of the Government will also be regarded as unavoid- 
able delays." The contract contained other provisions outlined under 
Art. 52. The Contractor did not finish on time, as he was unable to get 
his structural steel promptly. He refused to pay the $10 per day, arguing 
that the delay in receiving the material was one of the "unavoidable de- 
lays." The court decided that the delay was not unavoidable but was due 
to poor judgment on the Contractor's part. It should be added that the 
decision was doubtless influenced by the Contractor's having neglected to 
give more than a verbal notice of the delay at the time it occurred. 

The contract for furnishing the cables of the Williamsburg Bridge (New 
York City) contained the following clause: "And the said party of the 
second part (the Contractor) hereby further agrees that the said parties of 
the first part (the Bridge Commissioners) shall be and they are hereby 



8o THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

authorized to deduct and retain out of all the moneys which may be due or 
become due to the said party of the second part under this agreement, as 
liquidated damages for the non-completion of the work aforesaid within 
the time herein specified for its completion, or within the stipulated time 
to which the same may be extended in writing by said Commissioners, as 
herein provided, and not by way of penalty, the sum of $1000, for each and 
every working day the time consumed in the execution of the work may 
exceed the time stipulated for its completion, or such stipulated time to 
which the same may be extended by said Commissioners as aforesaid, 
which sum of $1000 per day, in view of the difficulty of estimating such 
damages, is hereby agreed upon, fixed and determined by the parties hereto 
as the liquidated damages that the said city will suffer by reason of said 
default, and not by way of penalty." The cables not having been fur- 
nished on time, the Commissioners retained the liquidated damages of 
$1000 per day. The Contractor for the cables sued to collect the amount 
and won his case, as it was brought out in the trial that the bridge could 
not have been used sooner even though the cables had been complete, and 
that therefore the city suffered little if any damage by reason of the delay. 

The student may mention the money damage which might result to the 
Owner from delay on the part of the Contractor in completing a railroad 
bridge; a power station; a highway. 

The student may criticize the following clause from paving specifica- 
tions: "If the contract work shall not be fully completed according to the 
terms of this specification within the time herein limited for its perform- 
ance, unless further time for completion be granted to the Contractor by 
the Board of Street Commissioners, the Contractor shall forfeit and pay 
for each day which may elapse after the time so limited, and before its 
final and full completion, the sum of twenty dollars per day." 

(A) The sum of twenty dollars ($20) per day for each day 
that any work shall remain uncompleted after the time 
specified in the contract for its completion shall be 
deducted from the amounts due said Contractor, not 
as a penalty but as just and liquidated damages. 

(B) In case the Contractor shall fail to complete the work 
hereinunder in accordance with the specifications and 

to the satisfaction of (the Owner) 

and the Engineer within the time aforesaid the Con- 
tractor shall and will pay to (the Owner) 

the sum of ten dollars ($10) for each and 



PROGRESS OF WORK 8l 

every day the time consumed in said performance and 
completion may exceed the time hereinbefore allowed 
for the purpose, which sum, in view of the difficulty of 

ascertaining the loss which (the Owner) 

will suffer by reason of the delay in the performance 
of the work hereunder, is hereby agreed upon, fixed 
and determined by the parties hereto as the liquidated 

damages that (the Owner) will 

suffer by reason of said delay and default and not as a 

penalty; and (the Owner) shall and 

may deduct and retain the amount of such liquidated 
damages out of the moneys which may be due or be- 
come due to the Contractor under this agreement. 
(C) The parties mutually agree that time is of the essence 

of this contract and that the damages to (the 

Owner) for failure of the Contractor to have 

fully completed the work on or before the date last 

mentioned shall be dollars per day for each 

day after the said date that shall elapse before the 
work shall be fully completed, which amount shall in 
no event be considered as a penalty, or otherwise than 

the liquidated and adjusted damages of (the 

Owner) because of said delay and which 

damages the Contractor shall promptly pay, and which 
damages the Engineer may retain from any moneys 
which otherwise shall be payable to the Contractor; 
and in the event that the moneys payable as aforesaid 
are not sufficient to fully compensate ...... (the 

Owner) because of such delay, then the Con- 
tractor promises and agrees to pay the balance of said 

damages to (the Owner) promptly upon 

demand by the Engineer. 



CHAPTER XI 

GENERAL CLAUSES 

Terms of Payment 

In the form of contract given in Chapter II, the Owner agrees to pay the Con- 
tractor a sum of money for his work. In most contracts this simple statement 
needs elaboration. Such is the purpose of the following General Clauses, which 
treat of funds available, of subletting, of extra work, of partial payments and of 
final payments. Engineers certificates, on which payments are based, are paren- 
thetically explained and illustrated. The Chapter closes with a brief considera- 
tion of maintenance clauses or guarantees. 

54. Source and Nature of Funds Available. A government 
contract is sometimes let before funds to complete the entire 
project are on hand, future appropriations being dependent on 
acts of Congress or of a state legislature. Municipal contracts 
may be entered into before the bonds have been sold or assess- 
ments collected with which to provide the necessary money. 
In such cases a complete statement of the source from which 
the Contractor's payment is to be derived should be plainly 
made in the specifications so that he may be warned in advance in 
case of a possibility of delay in receiving his money. Occasion- 
ally a municipality expects the Contractor to take part of his 
money in assessment bills (which he is to collect) or in bonds,* in 
which cases it should be plainly so provided in the specifications. 

(A) This contract is founded on an appropriation of 

It is mutually understood that in no 

event shall the City or any officer, agent or employee 
thereof be liable for any work herein founded in excess 
of the expenditures authorized thereby. 

(B) And it is understood and agreed that payments under 
this agreement shall be made only out of the collections 
from the assessments to be imposed or assessed against 

* Such a practice is not to be commended. 
82 



TERMS OF PAYMENT 83 

the abutting owners on both sides of the parts of the 
respective streets to be paved to defray one-fourth of 
the expense of such work and three-fourths from the 
issue of bonds of said Village pursuant to the provisions 
of Chapter of the Laws of 19. . and the resolu- 
tions of the Board anything in this contract to the 
contrary notwithstanding. 

(C) Unless otherwise stated hi the contract the Contractor 
shall accept as part payment of the amount of his 
contract the assessment bills charged upon the proper- 
ties in front of which the sewer shall be completed as 
per ordinance approved , 18. ., and supple- 
mented by ordinance approved , 18 . . He 

shall collect them at his own cost, and the better to 
enable him to do so, he may use the name of the 

City of , and employ all legal remedies or 

proceedings, whether of lien or otherwise, to which the 
City may be competent. 

55. Subletting and Assignment.* - If a Contractor sublets 
all or a part of his contract to others the Owner may still hold 
him and not recognize the subcontractors. It is sometimes 
eminently desirable, and even understood beforehand by all 
concerned, that portions of a large undertaking shall be sublet 
to various specialists. On the other hand, a subcontractor may 
be thoroughly dishonest, incompetent or lacking hi just the ex- 
perience and skill necessary for the successful completion of the 
work in question ; or a contract may be successively sublet until 
the subcontractor who actually does the work undertakes it at 
such a low figure that he cannot do it well and make a profit. 
Some Engineers hold that subletting of public work should not 
be permitted. 

Some contracts cannot be assigned a contract to marry, for 
example, or one for professional services. In many States 
certain forms of assignment are forbidden by law. The ques- 
tion of assignment of moneys or of subletting of work is a large 

* The student may distinguish between the terms. 



84 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

and complicated one. Legal decisions on these points have 
been conflicting, and in many cases the courts have treated a 
clause prohibiting subletting as having no weight. 

This clause should provide simply that the Contractor shall 
not sublet any portion of the contract without the express per- 
mission of the Owner. 

(A) The Contractor shall not assign or sublet any portion 

of this contract without the consent of (the 

Owner) 

(B) The Contractor agrees not to assign, transfer, convey, 
sublet or otherwise dispose of this contract, or his 
right, title or interest therein or his power to execute 
the same, to any person, company or corporation with- 
out the previous written consent of (the 

Owner) . . .' 

(C) The Contractor shall give his personal attention con- 
stantly to the faithful prosecution of the work, shall 
keep the same under his personal control, and shall 
not assign, by power of attorney or otherwise, or sub- 
let the work or any part thereof without the previous 

written consent of (the Owner) He 

shall state to the Engineer, in writing, the name of any 
subcontractor he intends to employ, the portion of 
the work which he is to do or the material which he is 
to furnish, his place of business and such other in- 
formation as (the Owner) may re- 
quire, in order to know whether such subcontractor is 
reputable and reliable, and able to perform the work 
or to furnish the material as called for in these specifica- 
tions. He shall not, either legally or equitably, assign 
any of the moneys payable under this agreement, or 
his claim thereto, unless by and with the like consent 
of (the Owner) 

56. Extra Work. 

(a) During construction it may be necessary or expedient for 
the Owner to require of the Contractor a greater outlay, for 



TERMS OF PAYMENT 85 

labor or materials or both, than was originally contemplated by 
anyone concerned. Under a unit price contract, if the change 
involves simply an additional amount of work for which a unit 
price has already been fixed, the adjustment is simple. This 
was pointed out as one of the advantages of unit prices. (See 
Art. 20.) Under any form of contract it is possible to make 
payments not originally provided for in either of two ways: 
(f) An additional or " supplemental " contract may be 
entered into between Contractor and Owner, covering the 
additional work. Where this does not involve legal diffi- 
culties it may prove the better method, especially if impor- 
tant changes in the design are involved. Such a procedure in 
connection with public work is open to the objection that the 
supplemental contract is entered into without competition. 
On private work supplemental contracts may of course be 
used without inviting criticism. 

A contract provided for grading a residence park, laying water, gas 
and sewer pipes, etc. While the work was in progress it was de- 
cided to put down concrete walks. These were provided for by a 
supplemental contract with the Contractor who was doing the 
rest of the work. 

(ii) Practically all specifications contain a clause providing 
for the performance, under the original contract, of what is 
technically called " extra work." Necessity for extra work 
may arise from deliberate change in design, from totally un- 
locked for conditions, or from other causes.* 
(b) It is sometimes argued that under a perfectly drawn con- 
tract there will be no extra work. Young engineers, thinking 
they have provided for every possible contingency, have drawn 
up specifications in which the clause was intentionally omitted. 

* Extra work originating from errors in laying out the work is of comparatively 
rare occurrence. A costly instance may be cited in which a tunnel, being con- 
structed for a certain municipality, was incorrectly staked out by the City 
Engineer. The rectification of this error involved the filling of the cavity with 
masonry to the extent of over eight thousand cubic yards, all of which was done 
by the Contractor as extra work. 



86 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

This is bad practice. Specifications which distinctly state that 
there shall be no extra work are positively unfair. In spite of 
this fact it is in some localities forbidden by law to make any 
allowance for extras on public contracts. Such a stand is of 
course directed against the evils of contracts in which the larger 
part of the profit is expected to be derived from extravagant 
extras. 

The following comment on the evils of extra work was written by a 
Roman architect * and Engineer about the year 25 B.C. 

"In the magnificent and spacious Grecian city of Ephesus an ancient 
law was made by the ancestors of the inhabitants, hard indeed in its nature 
but nevertheless equitable. When an architect was intrusted with the 
execution of a public work, an estimate thereof being lodged in the hands 
of a magistrate, his property was held, as security, until the work was 
finished. If, when finished, the work did not exceed the estimate, he was 
complimented with decrees and honors. So when the excess did not 
amount to more than a fourth part of the original estimate, it was defrayed 
by the public, and no punishment was inflicted. But when more than one- 
fourth of the estimate was exceeded, he was required to pay the excess out 
of his own pocket. Would to goodness that such a law existed among the 
Roman people, not only in respect of their public but also of their private 
buildings, for then the unskillful could not commit their depredations with 
impunity, and those who were the most skillful in the intricacies of the art 
would follow the profession. Owners would not be led into an extrava- 
gant expenditure so as to cause ruin; architects themselves, from the 
dread of punishment, would be more careful in their calculations, and 
the Owner would complete his building for that sum, or a little more, 

which he could afford to expend " From "The Architecture of 

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio " (commonly called Vitruvius), Introduction to 
Book 10. 

(c) It is not possible at all times to draw a sharp line between 
work that is properly a part of the contract and work that is 
not. The making of such distinctions often falls into the cate- 
gory of the Engineer's judicial Duties. (See Arts. 25, 33.) 

(d) A number of important points need to be included in the 
specification clause covering extra work: 

* Roman architects engaged in the practice of much that we now class as civil 
engineering. 



TERMS OF PAYMENT 87 

(i) That it shall be ordered in writing,* either by the Owner 
through the Engineer or by the Engineer with the authority 
of the Owner. 

Let it be remembered that the Engineer should not, under ordinary 
circumstances, assume this responsibility, as he is not a party to the con- 
tract. Except in very unimportant and inexpensive details the letter of 
this stipulation should be strictly observed. 

(ii) That it shall be paid for at cost-plus-a-percentage, 
the cost to be determined by the Engineer. 

The question immediately arises as to what to include in 
the cost, whether or not certain fixed charges, as rent, in- 
terest, supervision, properly belong in it. The percentage 
named is seldom less than 10 per cent or greater than 15 per 
cent, and represents what may be considered the Contractor's 
profit. In contracts where the labor item is relatively large, 
where the risk is great or where the work can be successfully 
prosecuted during only a part of the year it is reasonable to 
assume that the profits should be larger than under other cir- 
cumstances. (See Art. 57.) 

(Hi) That the Contractor must furnish such information, 
as time books, bills for materials or freight, as will enable 
the Engineer to arrive at a correct estimate of the cost. 

In addition to this, if possible, some person under the Engineer's 
direction (as the inspector or the resident Engineer) often keeps an 
account by which to check the Contractor's figures. 

(iv) That the Contractor shall make all extra work claims 
periodically monthly, for instance. This ensures that the 

* According to many court decisions similar to the following, neglect on the 
part of the Engineer to put the instructions in writing would not prevent the 
Contractor from collecting payment. The plan of written orders should be fol- 
lowed, however, as tending to caution on the part of all concerned. 

" Where a contractor, with the knowledge and consent of the owner, and under 
direction of the architect, but without a written order, performs extra work 
entailing additional expense, he will not be precluded from recovering reasonable 
compensation therefor by a clause in the contract which provides that no altera- 
tion shall be made in the work done or described by the drawings or specifica- 
tions, except upon a written order from the architect." (121 N. W. Rep. 957.) 



88 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

several matters shall be settled while still fresh in the minds 
of those concerned, and the provision should be more gener- 
ally made.* 

The right to have any extra work performed by another person (in case 
the Contractor refuses to do it) is in some specifications reserved. The 
value of such a provision seems problematical. 

Further than this, some Engineers prefer to state in the specifications 
that extra work shall be under the Engineer's direction to just the extent 
that the regular work is; and some specifications state that extra work 
may entitle the Contractor to an extension of time. 

(A) The Contractor shall do any and all extra work neces- 
sary for the proper construction or completion of the 
whole work herein contemplated as may be ordered in 

writing by (the Owner) , and as full 

compensation for such work the Contractor shall accept 
an amount equal to the actual cost of the said extra 
work as estimated by the Engineer, plus fifteen (15) 
per cent profit. In estimating the cost of extra work 
no allowance will be made for the use of tools or plant 
or for general superintendence. 

(B) The Contractor shall not do any work or make any 
claim for payment for work contemplated by this con- 
tract, plans and estimate of quantities except such as 

* The following has been suggested (Conn. Soc. C.E., 1909, p. 6) as an iron- 
clad clause covering this point: 

. . . " And before any monthly payments are made to the Contractor, he shall 
sign and deliver to the Party of the First Part the following declaration: 

' I hereby declare that during the month of (the month just past) , 

(year), I have not performed any work, furnished any materials, sustained 
any loss, delay or damage, or otherwise done anything for which I shall ask, de- 
mand, sue for or claim compensation from (Party of the First Part) in addition to 
the regular items of prices set forth in contract or contracts dated ( ), and 

executed between myself and (Party of the First Part) except as I hereby make 
claim for additional compensation as set forth on the itemized memorandum 

herewith attached. 

(Signed) 
(Dated) ' " 

(Even were an experienced Contractor willing to subscribe to such a clause it 
seems doubtful whether its use would always prove effective.) 



TERMS OF PAYMENT 89 

is classified in the list of priced items herein contained 
and bid upon, the prices of which items include all 
labor, material and expense of constructing the work 

herein contemplated. If (the Owner) 

wishes other work done or the Contractor 

wishes payment for doing work not so classified or in- 
cluded, a separate contract shall be concluded be- 
tween the parties to this end and no such extra work 
shall be done or money paid therefor unless such con- 
tract has been concluded, save that extra work done 

by authority of (the Owner) in 

writing may be performed under special agreement on 
the basis of cost plus fifteen (15) per cent provided the 
amount of extra expense involved under such agree- 
ment shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1000); 
said cost to be proven by a Contractor's itemized bill 
of labor and material verified by him under oath and 
approved by the Engineer. 
(C) The Contractor shall do such extra work and furnish 

such material as may be required by (the 

Owner) for the proper completion or con- 
struction of the whole work herein contemplated; he 
shall make no claim for extra work unless it shall have 
been done in obedience to a written order from the 

Engineer, approved by (the Owner) 

All bills for extra work done in any month shall be 
filed in writing with the Engineer before the fifteenth 
of the following month; and said Contractor, if he fail 
to file such claims within the time required, shall forfeit 
all rights to payment for such extra work. The Con- 
tractor shall receive for such extra work the actual 
cost of all materials furnished by him as shown by his 
paid vouchers approved by the Engineer. For such 
labor and teams as are necessary for such extra work 
he shall receive the current prices in the locality, which 
shall have been previously agreed to in writing by the 



QO THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

Engineer and by the Contractor, and approved by 

(the Owner) plus fifteen (15) per 

cent. No additional work will be considered as " extra 
work" which in the opinion of the Engineer can be 
properly included under the classifications of the 
contract. 

(D) The Contractor shall be paid for extra labor done by 
him and for extra materials furnished by him in com- 
pliance with written order of the Engineer, calling for 
work not similar in character to that covered by the 
items given in the proposal, and for which no price is 
set in said written order, their direct (not including 
consequential) cost to the Contractor, as determined 
by the Engineer to be reasonable, plus fifteen (15) 
per cent of said cost as so determined in regard to 
labor and six (6) per cent in regard to materials. The 
direct cost of labor may include the cost of mechanics 
and laborers furnished and a reasonable proportion of 
the time of the foreman and timekeeper. It may also 
include the cost of insurance on pay rolls where the 
total amount on any one order exceeds five hundred 
dollars ($500), but it shall in no case include any 
charge for the use of tools, for establishment charges 
or for time spent by the Contractor. The labor and 
materials so ordered shall constitute a part of the 
work to be done under the contract; and all and singu- 
lar the provisions of the contract shall apply to said 
labor and materials as if the same were specified 
therein. The Contractor shall have no claim for com- 
pensation for extra work and materials unless the same 
are ordered in writing by the Engineer. The Con- 
tractor shall make daily with the Engineer a minute 
and detailed comparison in regard to men, rates, 
materials, prices, etc., and the agreement or disagree- 
ment as to each shall be carefully noted. He shall in 
addition, within one week after doing any labor or 



TERMS OF PAYMENT 91 

furnishing any materials under an order given as afore- 
said, deliver to the Engineer a copy of such order and 
an itemized bill, in duplicate, based thereon. The 
Contractor shall have no claim for the above named 
extra work or materials unless he furnishes the details 
and bills herein called for, and no other claim of the 
Contractor against (the Owner) aris- 
ing out of the execution of the contract shall be deemed 
valid unless said claim is presented to the Engineer 
within thirty (30) days from the time when he first 
knows of or has opportunity to know of the acts and 
circumstances on which the claim is based. A pay- 
ment to the Contractor in cases where these pro- 
visions or any of them are not complied with shall not 
be construed as a waiver of such provisions or of any 
part thereof. 
57. Frequency and Amount of Partial Payments. 

(a) One of the more important duties of the Engineer during 
construction is that connected with the payment to the Con- 
tractor of the money he has earned. On a small contract one 
payment made after the work is completed will often be satis- 
factory, but common practice is to pay the Contractor an in- 
stallment each month (except in case of "progress payments"*) 
as the work advances. This enables the Contractor to carry on 
the work with a smaller capital than he would require if he had 
to wait for his money until the work was finished. The size of 
the installment is determined by the Engineer, and is based on 
the amount of work the Contractor has done during the pre- 
ceding month. 

(b) It does not represent the full value of such work, how- 
ever, as a small percentage, commonly either 10, 15 or 20 per 
cent is retained until after the work is finally accepted, prin- 
cipally as a safeguard against defects which the Engineer may 
have overlooked and against bills for materials or labor which 
the Contractor may have neglected to pay. Additional security 

* How do these differ from monthly payments? 



92 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

is furnished by the bond. (See Art. n.) If the percentage is 
made very large it discriminates against Contractors of limited 
capital. Accusations of favoritism in respect to certain banks 
have been made in instances where the percentage held back 
has been unnecessarily large. If made too small it will not 
prevent a dishonest Contractor from abandoning the work 
immediately after he has received a payment on account. The 
retained percentage may be said to represent in a general way 
the Contractor's profit. 

(c) The methods used by the Engineer in making up a partial 

payment account vary slightly, but are substantially as follows: 

(i) With a unit price contract the process is comparatively 

simple, consisting merely in measuring the quantities of each 

class of work completed to date, and using these quantities, 

together with the unit prices in the contract, for computing 

the amount due the Contractor. 

(ii) Under a lump sum contract the process is not quite so 
simple, as there are no unit prices on which to base the com- 
putation. In this event the Engineer must rely on his own 
judgment as to the value of the work done. (The Contractor 
might give him the computations on which he had based 
his bid, but of course he would be under no obligation to 
do so.) 

The Engineer's Monthly Certificate (or Estimate), as it is called, is ad- 
dressed sometimes to the Owner and sometimes to the Contractor. The 
phraseology would vary slightly according to circumstances, but the essen- 
tial points to be covered are these: 

(i) Recite the date of the contract and the full names and addresses 
of the principals thereto. 

(ii) State the total value of the work done since the beginning of the 
contract. 

(Hi) From this total deduct the proper percentage as provided in the 
specifications. 

(iv) Sum up the payments on account to date, and subtract the total 
amount from the above remainder leaving a balance due at a date which 
should be named. 

0) Sign, date and number the Certificate. Engineers' Certificates 
should be made out in triplicate (at least), one copy for the Contractor, 



TERMS OF PAYMENT 93 

one for the proper disbursing officer, and the third to be retained by the 
Engineer. 

A troublesome question which sometimes arises in this connection re- 
lates to material which the Contractor has had delivered along the line of 
the work, but which is not yet in place. Shall the value of this material 
be included in any payments until the material is finally incorporated into 
the structure? Unless otherwise stipulated in the specifications at this 
point it would not be paid for until actually used, and it is doubtful if it is 
good practice to make any other arrangement in the specifications.* (See 
Art. 35.) 

Typical Monthly Certificates 
(I) (Assuming unit prices and addressed to the Contractor.) 

Mr.J P , 

S , N. Y. 

Dear Sir: 

I hereby certify that, in accordance with the terms of your contract 

with the Village of S , dated , for building a 

sewer in X St. you have to date done work and furnished 

materials to the several amounts and values named below, viz: 

2620 lin. ft. lo-in. pipe at 80 cents $2096 . oo 

1200 lin. ft. 8-in. pipe at 60 cents 720. oo 

10 manholes at $50 each 500 . oo 



$3316.00 
Deduct 10 per cent 331 . 60 

$2984.40 
Deduct payments as follows: 

No. i $ 800.00 

No. 2 1000 . oo 

No. 3 75 - 00 2550.00 

Balance due $ 434 . 40 

You are therefore entitled to a payment of the above balance on account 
on or before the loth inst., hi accordance with the terms of said contract. 



C C , 

Engineer in Charge. 

* Discuss this point by making comparisons between the case of brick or cement 
furnished for paving, dressed stone furnished for a wall, fabricated steel furnished 
for a bridge or building. 



94 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

X St. Sewer, S , N. Y., 

Engineer's Certificate No. 4, 
Dated Mar. 3, 1912. 

(II) (Assuming lump sum contract and addressed to the Owner.) 

Mr. B N , 

G , Conn. 

Dear Sir: 

As provided in the contract entered into Jan. 3, 1912, between yourself 

and Mr. C M of G , for building a 

concrete wall around your estate, I have this day measured the work com- 
pleted by him to date and certify as follows, viz: 

Value of work done to date $6600 . oo 

Deduct 15 per cent as per contract 990.00 

$5610.00 
Deduct previous payments 5100.00 

Balance due on or before June zoth $ 510.00 

Signed, 

C C , 

Engineer. 

Concrete wall for Mr. B N , 

Certificate No. 5, June 5, 1912. 

Other methods of bookkeeping would bring the same result. In these 
illustrations the percentage is deducted before deducting the previous pay- 
ments. A blunder would result if the sequence were reversed. 

(A) At the end of each calendar month the Engineer will 
make an approximate measurement of all the work 
done and material delivered up to that date, classified 
according to the items mentioned in the contract, and 
will make an estimate of the value of the same on the 
basis of the unit prices named in the contract. To the 
estimates made as above set forth will be added the 
amounts earned for extra work to the date of the prog- 
ress estimate. From the total thus computed a de- 



TERMS OF PAYMENT 95 

duction of ten (10) per cent will be made and from the 
remainder there will be further deducted any amount 
due to (the Owner) from the Con- 
tractor as damages for delays or otherwise under the 
terms of the contract. From the balance thus deter- 
mined will be deducted the amount of all previous pay- 
ments and the remainder will be paid to the Contractor. 
The ten per cent deducted as above set forth will 
become due and payable to the Contractor upon com- 
pletion of the work to the satisfaction of the Engi- 
neer. 

(B) Payment for the work embraced in the contract shall 
be made in the following manner : a payment will 
be made, on or about the first of each month, of ninety 
(90) per centum of the value of the work completed by 
the Contractor on the fifteenth of the previous month 
and not previously paid for, as estimated by the En- 
gineer; allowance will not ordinarily be made the Con- 
tractor by the Engineer, in his estimates, for materials 
that are not in place, i.e. that are not in finished por- 
tions of the work which is in an unfinished condition; 
allowance may be made for all excavation done each 
month, and for materials delivered on the work when, 
in the opinion of the Engineer, such allowances are 
justified; provided, however, that the making of such 
payments may be deferred from month to month, 
when, in the opinion of the Engineer, the value of the 
work done since the last estimate for payment is less 
than three hundred dollars ($300); provided, further, 
that nothing herein contained shall be construed to 

affect the right, hereby reserved, of (the 

Owner) to reject the whole or any portion of 

the aforesaid work, should the certificate be found or 
known to be inconsistent with the terms of the con- 
tract or these specifications, or otherwise improperly 
given. 



96 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

58. Conditions of Final Payment. 

(a) When the work is finished and the Engineer, after a 
thorough inspection, is satisfied that it is complete and in ac- 
cordance with plan and specifications in every detail, he issues 
his final certificate. 

The following will serve to show how such a certificate might be 
worded. It may be addressed either to the Contractor or the Owner. 

Typical Final Certificate 

Mr. C M , . 

G , Conn. 

Dear Sir: 

This is to certify that your contract dated for building a 

concrete wall around the estate of Mr. B N has 

been completed according to the plans and specifications therefor and to 
my satisfaction, and that you are entitled to payment as follows: 

Total contract price * $7500 . oo 

Deduct 15 per cent as per contract f 1125.00 

$6375.00 
Deduct previous payments 5610.00 



Balance due on or before July loth $ 765 . oo 

Signed, 

C C 

Engineer. 

Concrete Wall for Mr. B N , 

Engineer's Final Certificate, July 6, 1912. 



(6) On the basis of this certificate a payment is made to the 
Contractor in an amount shown by the certificate, namely the bal- 
ance due on the contract, less the percentage, which latter is still 
held for a period prescribed by the specifications, generally 30 

* The extra work may or may not be mentioned in this certificate. 

f The 15 per cent would be due at a later date, as August sixth. See Art. 57. 



TERMS OF PAYMENT 97 

days. This is to guard against liens,* and gives the Owner op- 
portunity to inquire at the office where liens are recorded and 
assure himself that no liens are in force against the work or 
against any materials used therein. Some specifications re- 
quire the Contractor to secure and furnish to the Owner a certifi- 
cate stating that the official records show no outstanding liens 
affecting the case, making this a condition precedent to his re- 
ceiving the payment of the retained percentage. 

04) The said Contractor shall not be entitled to demand 
or receive payment for any portion of the aforesaid 
work or material except in the manner set forth in the 
contract and these specifications until said work shall 
have been completed in accordance with the terms 
hereinbefore mentioned and the Engineer shall have 

given his certificate to that effect ; whereupon 

(the Owner) will within seventy days after 

said completion and the delivery of said certificate pay 
or cause to be paid to the said Contractor in cash the 
whole amount of money then, due the said Contractor 
under the contract excepting such sum or sums as may 
lawfully be retained under any of the provisions of 
the contract hereinbefore set forth. 

(B) The Engineer shall, as soon as practicable after the 
completion of the work under this contract, make a 
final estimate of the amount of work done thereunder, 

and (the Owner) shall, within 

thirty days after such final estimate is so made, pay 
the entire sum so found to be due hereunder, after 
deducting therefrom all previous payments, and also 
all percentages and amounts to be kept and retained 

* Liens are claims against property for unpaid debts. Originally in common 
law, a lien gave a workman (a jeweller for example) the right to retain hi his posses- 
sion an article on which he had been working (as a watch) until he had been paid 
for his work. Common law has been supplemented within recent years hi the 
United States by various State statutes, so that an unpaid workman may have a 
claim against the work even if it is physically impossible for it to be in his posses- 
sion. Similar provision is made in favor of men who have furnished materials. 



98 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

under the provisions of this contract. All prior esti- 
mates and payments shall be subject to correction in 
the final estimate and payment. The Contractor 

shall furnish (the Owner) with 

satisfactory evidence that all persons who have done 
work or furnished materials and are entitled to a lien 
therefor under any statute or law of the State have 
been fully paid or are no longer entitled to such a lien 
before he shall demand any estimate or payments due 
or unpaid under this contract, and in case such evidence 
is not furnished an amount necessary to meet the law- 
ful claims of the persons aforesaid may be retained from 
any moneys due or that may become due the said Con- 
tractor under this contract until the lawful claims afore- 
said shall be fully discharged or satisfactorily secured, 

but it is understood and agreed that (the 

Owner) assumes no obligations nor in any way 

undertakes to pay such lawful claims out of any funds 
due or that may become due the Contractor, or out of 

(the Owner's) own funds. 

59. Maintenance Clauses. When asphalt pavements were 
first introduced into the United States (about 1875), engi- 
neers knew little of the wearing qualities of the material. 
Hence originated the custom of requiring of the Contractor 
a guarantee that his work would last. This practice has since 
found wide use in connection with pavements of all kinds, 
and has been to a limited extent applied to other forms of 
construction. 

(a) The security required of the Contractor is either: 
(i) A percentage retained during the guarantee period, or 
(ii) A security bond (smaller of course than the " faithful 
performance" bond). (See Art. n.) 

Of the two, the former is simpler and more direct, providing 
as it does a fund on which to draw in case the Contractor re- 
fuses to make the necessary repairs. 

(6) The objections to requiring maintenance are three: 



TERMS OF PAYMENT 99 

(i) The additional cost. The Contractor naturally adds 
the estimated expense of maintenance to his bid. Should 
the Owner assume the responsibility of maintenance he might 
be able to make his own repairs at a less expense. 

(ii) The difficulty of accurately denning the term " main- 
tenance." Shall the work appear as good as new at the end 
of the maintenance period? If not, how much wear shall be 
considered reasonable? Many foolish requirements, impos- 
sible of enforcement, have found their way into specifications 
in the attempt to set an arbitrary limit to the amount of 
ordinary wear. 

(Hi) The annoyance of forcing the Contractor to make 
the repairs. A dishonest Contractor has many excuses to 
offer in the effort to shirk this responsibility. 

As applied to pavements, a most perplexing situation arises when por- 
tions of the pavement are necessarily disturbed by others (as for water or 
sewer connections). Another bone of contention is likely to appear where 
the amount of vehicular traffic suddenly increases during the period of 
guarantee, as in the case of a street which changes from a residence to a 
business street. 

The period of maintenance of pavements has been steadily decreasing. 
Formerly ten years was a common requirement, now periods of from one 
to five years are the rule where any guarantee at all is required. Under 
most conditions better results can perhaps be attained at less expense 
without the maintenance clause at least hi the case of pavements. 

(A) The Contractor agrees to make all the needed repairs 
on the said work during a period of one year after its 

final completion and he agrees that (the 

Owner) is authorized to retain out of the 

moneys payable to the Contractor under this agree- 
ment the sum of two (2) per cent of the amount of the 
contract and to expend the same or as much thereof 
as may be required in making the aforesaid repairs to 
the satisfaction of the Engineer if within ten days 
after the delivery or mailing of a notice in writing to 
the Contractor or his agents he or they shall neglect to 



100 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

make the aforesaid needed repairs; provided, however, 
that in case of an emergency where in the opinion of 
the Engineer delay would cause serious loss or damage 

(the Owner) may make repairs 

without previous notice and at the expense of the Con- 
tractor. 

(B) The Contractor hereby further agrees that all the 
structures built by him under this contract shall be 
kept in good and satisfactory condition for the period 
of one year after the completion of the work to be 
done under this contract. Should any defects in the 
work or structures become evident before the expira- 
tion of the above guarantee the Contractor shall within 
five days from the date of the receiving of personal 
notice or the mailing of a notice by the Engineer to 
the Contractor proceed to remedy such defects of 
whatever nature or extent or whenever and wherever 
found in a proper manner and to the satisfaction of 
the Engineer and at the expense of the Contractor. 
In the event of the failure of the Contractor to begin 

such repairs within the five days above noted 

(the Owner) shall have the right to make 

such repairs and the cost thereof shall be paid by the 
Contractor; and it is expressly agreed by and between 

the Contractor and (the Owner) that 

the surety bond attached to and made a part of this 
contract shall be in full force until the expiration of 
. one year from the date of the payment of the final 
amount due the Contractor for work done and materials 
furnished under this contract. 



CHAPTER XII 
SPECIFIC CLAUSES 

In the preparation of the specific or technical clauses, it is well to observe a 
few simple but important directions; in addition to those given in Chapter V, which 
the student should review at this point. For the distinction between specific 
and general clauses see Chapter II. 

60. Grouping. It is much easier to refer to these clauses 
as a whole if they be segregated from the general clauses and 
preceded by a proper heading. 

61. Sequence. As far as is practicable, they should be 
arranged, for convenience of reference, in chronological sequence 
(the order in which it is natural to expect the work to be done). 
This does not, of course, restrict the Contractor to the order 
observed in the specifications. In some specifications the 
clauses relating to materials are further segregated from those 
referring to workmanship. 

62. Indefinite Terms. Descriptive terms or units, unless 
perfectly definite, should be studiously qualified so as to make 
them definite. 

(a) For the measurement of masonry, units such as cubic 
feet or cubic yards would appear to be, and in the case of many 
engineering structures are, perfectly definite. Certain well 
established trade rules, varying somewhat locally, affect the 
measurement of masonry in buildings. Such rules not in- 
frequently provide for the double measurement of corners (or 
returns), and for the complete or partial disregard of openings 
(such as doors and windows). 

Building stone is frequently required to be furnished by the 
cubic unit. In such cases it should be made clear as to whether 

101 



102 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

the measurement is to be based on the volume of each separate 
stone, or of a heap of stone, or of the finished wall.* 

(b) As applied to earth, the handling of some of which is 
necessitated in almost every engineering project, the term 
" cubic yard" needs qualification, for earth may be and is 
measured in one of three ways: 

(i) Before it has been disturbed (in situ), as in railroad 
grading and similar work.f 

(ii) In transit, as in a scow on dredging contracts, or in a 
cart. 

(Hi) In its final resting place, as in certain kinds of filling, 
for example the reclaiming of marsh land by the hydraulic 
process. In such cases the date of measurement and other 
points may need careful attention in the specifications, as 
some material continues to change volume for a long period 
of time. 

(c) The lack of a proper differentiation of earth and rock in 
the specifications has occasioned a vast amount of unpleasant 
feeling and of litigation in connection with contract work of a 
certain character. Geologists make no real distinction be- 
tween the two. In common parlance earth is soft and rock 
hard, but these adjectives lose much of their force where there 
is an almost imperceptible gradation between the two materials 
in situ. Three methods of classification follow: 

(i) The distinction most commonly made is that anything 
requiring blasting for its removal will be estimated as rock. 
Not infrequently boulders of a certain minimum volume, and 
tree stumps, both of which it might be possible though 
perhaps not economical to remove in some other way, are 

* Such units as " perch " should never be used by Engineers. A perch of 
masonry properly contains 24! cubic feet (i6| by i| by i). In country districts 
where it is still in use as a unit a perch of masonry is variously assumed to con- 
tain anywhere from 22 to 25 cubic feet of stone. 

Of interest in this connection is a publication of the Bureau of Standards, 
Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington, D. C., 1912, entitled " State 
and National Laws Concerning the Weights and Measures of the United States." 

f The measurement of rock excavation is almost invariably made in situ. 



^ .. SPECIFIC CLAUSES 103 

classed as rock. In many instances "loose rock" is classified 
separately.* 

"No soft, loose or broken rock, impacted boulders or hardpan, but 
only such solid rock as may be approved by the Engineer in ad- 
vance as requiring blasting for its removal, and boulders of one 
half (5) cubic yard or more found in and removed from the exca- 
vation, are to be considered as rock excavation." 

(ii) Another plan for differentiation is based on the pos- 
sibility of removing the material with a plow. 

"Dry excavation of rock will include the removal of all ledge rock and 
hardpan which, in the opinion of the resident Engineer, cannot be 
plowed, and all boulders measuring one-half a cubic yard or more." 
(N. Y. State Canals, 1904.) 

(Hi) A recent specification fixes the dividing line between 
earth and rock at three on the scale of mineral hardness 
(sometimes called the "Mohs" scale). The student should 
point out two difficulties apparently involved. 

"Whenever the word 'rock' occurs in these specifications, it shall be 
interpreted to mean any material geologically in place and of a 
hardness when first exposed of three or greater in the scale of 
mineral hardness, which corresponds to the hardness of the trans- 
parent variety of calcite. Other material will not be classed as 
rock, although it may be more economical to remove the same 
by blasting." (Chicago Sewers, 1911.) 

The student should note that certain materials, such as hardpan or 
quicksand, while properly classed as earth, may in reality be more expen- 
sive to excavate than some grades of rock, and further, that it is some- 
times advisable to classify earth or rock according to depth of excavation, 
length of haul, number of times it must be handled, amount of contained 
moisture, or in other respects. While it is practically impossible to draft a 
clause covering earth and rock which will be applicable to all local con- 
ditions geological and otherwise, painstaking definition in the specifica- 
tions, and provision for special prices will lead to mutual understanding 
and often to lower bids. On large and important excavation contracts 
the expedient of using, as illustrations, samples obtained from borings may 

* Solid rock has been defined in some specifications as rock which rings when 
struck with a light hammer. 



104 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

prove to be the only solution of the problem. The Contractor, in such 
case, bids on the classification as shown by the samples kept on file.* 

(d) Among other indefinite terms may be noted "a barrel of 
cement," " parts" (in expressions intending to give the pro- 
portions of a concrete or similar mixture), "ton," "ounce," 
"overhaul," "first (or second or third) class masonry," etc. 

The student may discuss the uncertainty involved in each of the above 
terms. Reference to the construction news columns of engineering peri- 
odicals will enable the student to familiarize himself with the units in 
common use for the measurement of different sorts of work. He should 
prepare a list of the units employed in the measurement of the various 
parts of the work outlined in Chapter XIII. 

63. Stock Articles. Specify commercial sizes and patterns 
where practicable. Certain sizes of lumber are commonly 
carried in stock by dealers, while odd sizes must be especially 
ordered, unless they can be turned out from stock (which may 
mean a large percentage of waste). Rolling mills make a 
specialty of certain weights of rolled shapes, the patterns of 
pipe are becoming somewhat standardized, and in many other 
departments the Engineer will find that a knowledge on his part 
of the contents of trade catalogues may effect a saving for his 
clients. 

64. Special Brands. Where possible avoid requiring special 
brands or patented articles.! 

(a) Otherwise those who furnish the particular article have 
a monopoly, and they might take advantage of the situation. 
Some patented articles are relatively expensive, at best. 

* It is a simple matter to use such a plan when the necessity arises for defin- 
ing, for example, an unusual surface finish for concrete or stone masonry. The 
specifications might in such cases refer with equal propriety either to a prepared 
sample or to features of an already completed structure. 

f This rule is not to be regarded as inflexible. Certain articles of standard 
price are of such excellence that they cannot be duplicated. The requiring of 
patented or monopolized articles on public work is wholly prohibited by some 
city charters and state laws; in others the qualification "except in case of 
absolute necessity" is added, while many contain no reference whatever to the 
matter. (See Art. 45.) 



SPECIFIC CLAUSES 105 

(b) A suspicion of favoritism or of collusion is difficult to live 
down. 

(c) It is possible that other manufacturers may be able to 
furnish a better article. Word the specifications so as not to 
deprive the Contractor of some option in the matter. 

65. Impossibilities. Do not attempt the requiring of im- 
possibilities. 

It is essential that the Engineer appreciate the limitations of 
the material he expects to use. Not less necessary to him is 
an intimate appreciation of the average skill and habits of work 
of the men employed in the various building trades, for it is 
practically impossible to secure even from skilled mechanics a 
grade of workmanship much superior to that to which they have 
been long accustomed. 

66. Grades of Quality. It is perhaps unnecessary to re- 
mind the student of the futility of calling for or expecting to 
get "perfect" materials or workmanship of any description. It 
is not hi all cases even necessary that these should be of the best 
quality (unless absolutely nothing else will serve). The En- 
gineer should study his available materials and aim to make his 
specifications explicit respecting the grades of each he requires. 
Stone masonry, for example, costs anywhere from five dollars 
to fifty dollars or more a cubic yard, depending partly on the 
stone and the labor of quarrying and laying it, but much more 
on the amount of labor spent in dressing the surface to various 
finishes. Timber and lumber can generally be furnished in at 
least two grades, the best of which has certain well recognized 
imperfections. Second-hand steel rails or second-grade pipe 
will for some purposes be as serviceable as the newest and best 

and so on through a long list. The classic definition of a 
Engineer describes him as a man who can do for a dollar what 
any ignoramus can do for two. 

67. Results Versus Methods. Specify results rather than 
methods. Aim to describe the finished structure with its con- 
stituent materials. There are two objections to specifying 
methods : 



106 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(a) It is possible that methods preferred by the Contractor 
may be more efficient. 

(b) It will be impossible in such case to hold the Contractor 
to definite results. 

Under some circumstances the Owner or the Engineer may be perfectly 
willing to accept results, in which case it is entirely reasonable to restrict 
the Contractor to a well-defined method.* Or it may be advisable to pre- 
scribe a method in detail, following the prescription with a statement that 
the Contractor will be allowed, by express permission of the Engineer, to 
substitute a method which he (the Contractor) is willing to guarantee will 
produce an equally good result. Cases of bridge erection have been dealt 
with thus. 

Not many years ago all concrete was hand mixed, and specifications 
prescribed the process in great detail. Most types of machine mixers do 
the work at least as well, so that few specifications now define the method 
of mixing. 

68. Balanced Treatment. Important and essential features 
of the design should have the fullest and most explicit treat- 
ment. Matters involving much labor or expense need to be 
explained in greatest detail, whereas some points involving no 
additional expense can often be passed over with few words or 
even in silence. 

The student may criticize and rewrite the following: 

(i) (From specifications for masonry wall.) "The stone must be of lime- 
stone, sandstone or granite, of quality, size and shape acceptable to the 
Engineer." 

(O) (From specifications for a tunnel.) " Concrete lining shall be placed 
throughout the tunnel as indicated by the drawings. Any excavation be- 
yond the neat lines of the tunnel section as shown on the drawings shall be 
filled to the satisfaction of the Engineer and no allowance will be made 
therefor." 

(Hi} (From specifications for concrete culvert.) " Concrete shall be com- 
posed of one part cement, two parts sand and four parts crushed stone." 

(iv) (From specifications for a dam.) "In this excavation the kind of ex- 
plosives used, the amount of the charges, the depth and direction of the 
holes, and the entire process of the work shall be under the direction of the 

* A case in point is the stipulation that structural steel shall be manufactured 
by the open-hearth process. 



SPECIFIC CLAUSES 107 

Engineer, the object being to do the work in such a manner as to avoid 
fissures hi the remaining rock. If at any place the Contractor shall exca- 
vate, damage or shatter the bed rock beyond the lines given by the Engineer 
to be excavated, and it is necessary to replace the solid rock by masonry, 
then the Contractor shall supply such masonry free of cost to the Owner." 



CHAPTER XIII 
OUTLINES OF SPECIFIC CLAUSES 

The following outlines are designed to furnish the student practical drill in 
the writing of the specific clauses of specifications for work of a comparatively 
simple nature. The student should consult the references in the Appendix, as 
well as any actual specifications which may be available, before proceeding with 
the composition. He should aim, however, toward a moderate degree of in- 
dividuality of expression from the first, and his efforts in this direction should be 
subjected to the criticism of the Instructor, and possibly of the class. 

Standard Specifications. For some years past there has been a move- 
ment toward standardizing the specific clauses of specifications for certain 
classes of work, or for certain materials. For example, each of the more 
important railway systems has prepared for its own use a set of "general" 
or "standard" specifications for masonry construction, a set for track 
laying, etc. Various individual engineers, or associations of engineers or 
of manufacturers have evolved "general" or "standard" specifications for 
steel construction, for pavements, for cement, for timber, etc. The student 
will find a number of these noted in the references in the Appendix. He 
would do well to secure some of them for his personal library. 

69. Vitrified Pipe Sewer. 

(a) Preparing Trench. 

(i) In earth: dimensions of trench; limit of length left 
open ahead; tunnelling; treatment of unstable subsoil. 

(ii) In rock: rock classification; section paid for; * ex- 
cavated ( ) feet in advance. 

* In sewers and similar work involving rock excavation, the student should 
realize that it is unnecessary and practically impossible to excavate rock, unless 
it be soft, to a line. Hence arises the necessity in most instances of fixing in the 
specifications (sometimes on the plan) a limiting section, beyond which, if the 
Contractor excavates, he cannot expect compensation. In trench excavation this 
limiting section has been variously fixed as a rectangle, a trapezoid, or a combi- 
nation of the two. 

108 



OUTLINES OF SPECIFIC CLAUSES 109 

(Hi) Miscellaneous contingencies: intersecting drains, 
etc.; pumping; shoring or bracing; protection of existing 
structures (pipes, conduits, railway tracks, etc.). 

(b) Mortar and Concrete. 

(i) Requirements for cement (soundness, fineness, strength, 
etc.). 

(ii) Quality of sand. 

(Hi) Size and quality of stone. 

(iv) Proportions for mortar and concrete. 

(v) Mixing; laying; protecting; binding. 

(c) Pipe. 

(i) Measurement of total length. 
(ii) Quality and dimensions of pipe and specials. 
(Hi) Preparing bed. 
(iv) Laying; jointing; cleaning, etc. 

(v) House connections (or Y branches); size; frequency; 
capping; marking. 

(d) Accessories. 

(i) Manholes: quality of material; method of erection; 
steps; head; cover. 
(ii) Flush tanks. 

(e) Backfill. 

(i) Near pipe and elsewhere. 
(ii) Tamping or puddling. 

(iii) Replacing pavement (or covering pipe if laid on 
surface). 

(iv) Limit left uncovered. 
(v) Deficiency supplied. 
(vi) Disposal of surplus. 
(vii) Overhaul. 
(viii) Cleaning up. 

70. Macadam Road. 

(a) Grading. 

(i) Excavation: classification and measurement; treat- 
ment of spongy material; disposal of surplus. 



HO THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(ii) Embankment: where obtained; deficiency; borrow 
pits; rock fill; earth fill. 

(Hi) Subgrade and shoulders : forming, rolling and 
finishing each. 

(iv) Grading of intersecting roads and drives. 
(v) Overhaul. 

(b) Telford Foundation, 
(i) Location. 

(ii) Quality and dimensions of stone. 
(Hi) Manner of laying and compacting. 

(c) Macadam. 

(i) Stone: variety; tests; method of computing quan- 
tity. 

(H) First course: size stone; thickness; rolling; binding 
and finishing. 

(Hi) Second course : (same as above) . 

(iv) Third course: (same as above). 

(v) Specifications as to nature and use of binder (if bitumi- 
nous or asphaltic). 

(d) Paved Gutters. 

(i) Extent; material; foundation; method of laying and 
finishing. 

(e) Side Ditches. 

(i) Location; size; payment. 

(/) Drains; culverts; basins, 
(g) Guard Railing. 

(i) Extent; material for posts and rails; details of con- 
struction; painting. 

(h) Miscellaneous. 
(i) Retaining walls. 
(H) Riprap. 
(Hi) Sign posts. 

(iv) Stone bounds or monuments. 
(v Milestones. 



OUTLINES OF SPECIFIC CLAUSES III 

71. Laying Cast-iron Water Pipe and Accessories. 

(a) Preparing Trench. 

Section in rock and in earth; extra depth excavation; 
blasting; tunnelling; length open; shoring, etc.; drainage; 
care of existing structures. 

(b) Laying Pipe. 

Unstable subsoil; blocking; jointing; plugging; cutting; 
setting valves and hydrants; marking location of specials; 
tests under pressure. 

(c) Materials. 

(i) Pipe and specials: reference to standard specifica- 
tions; inspection. 

(ii) Valves: type; material and details; valve boxes; 
valve chambers. 

(Hi) Hydrants: type, material and details. 

(iv) Miscellaneous: lead; yarn; mortar; concrete; brick; 
lumber. 

(d) Backfill. 

Character of material; consolidation; shortage and surplus; 
overhaul; cleaning up; repaving. 

72. Small Reinforced Concrete Highway Bridge. 

(a) Excavation; sheeting; preparation of foundation; pro- 
vision for flow of stream; diversion of public travel; care of 
pipes, conduits, etc. 

(b) Cement: tests; delivery and storage; sampling. 

(c) Sand: quality. 

(d) Crushed stone or gravel : size, quality. 

(e) Steel reinforcement: quality of steel; cleaning. 

(/) Proportions, mixing and laying concrete; use of spalls. 

(g) Forms: material. 

(h) Placing of reinforcement; contact with concrete. 

(i) Bonding of contiguous work. 



112 THE ELEMENTS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING 

(j) Surf ace finishing; protection. 

(k) Restoring highway: repaying; surplus material; clean- 
ing up; disposal of old bridge. 

73. Concrete Sidewalks and Curbing. 

(a) Excavation; foundation; drainage; roots of trees. 

(b) Forms. 

(c) Quality and proportions of cement, sand and stone for 
each course and for curbing; coloring; reinforcement (or corner 
bar) for curb. 

(d) Mixing and laying concrete; finishing surface; expansion 
joints; protection from elements. 

(e) Disposal of surplus material; grading and cleaning up. 

74. Retaining Wall of Ashlar Masonry. 

(a) Excavation; drainage; foundation. 

(b) Dressed stone: quality; dressing of each bed; thickness 
of courses; limiting dimensions of headers and stretchers; 
treatment of edges. 

(c) Backing stone: quality; dimensions; laying. 

(d) Mortar: cement; sand; mixing, etc. 

(e) Construction of wall: proportion of headers to stretch- 
ers; bedding; bonding; thickness of joints; breaking joints; 
use of mortar; use of spalls; disturbance of bedded stone; con- 
struction of backing; weep-holes; pointing up. 

(/) Coping: size ; dressing. 

(g) Finishing: removal of surplus material; cleaning up. 

75. Small Earth Dam. 

(a) Clearing and stripping site: excavation; drainage 
trenches; springs; care of stream; etc. 

(b) Puddle core:* material to compose; laying and com- 
pacting. 

* The student may substitute a concrete core-wall, for which he should prepare 
his own outline. 



OUTLINES OF SPECIFIC CLAUSES 113 

(c) Main portion of dam: choice of material for upstream 
portion; for downstream portion; riprap slopes; sodding or 
seeding. 

(d) Cement: sand; mortar; brickwork. 

(e) Gatehouse; gates; waste-weir, etc. 

76. Pile and Timber Dock (or Trestle). 

(a) Piles: variety and quality of wood; (creosoting) ; 
straightness and limiting dimensions; preparation of points and 
of butts for driving; driving; penetration; load formula; saw- 
ing off; payment for. 

(b) Timber: variety, quality and dressing of wood for 
different portions; allowable defects (such as seams, knots, 
knot-holes, sapwood, splits, wind-shakes) ; framing; flooring. 

(c) Bolts and nuts; washers; spikes. 

(d) Painting; cleaning up. 

77. Wood Block Pavement. 

(A large portion of this outline would, of course, apply equally well to 
brick, stone-block or other "permanent" pavements). 

(a) Excavation: disposal of surplus material; overhaul; roll- 
ing subgrade. 

(b) Curbing:* material; dressing; setting; headers, ma- 
terial and setting. 

(c) Catch basins: materials and workmanship; storm drains. 

(d) Concrete foundation: cement; sand; stone; mixing; 
laying; protection. 

(e) Cushion coat: materials and preparation. 

(/) Wood blocks: wood; dimensions; oil; treatment; test- 
ing; laying; grouting; expansion joints; covering; protection. 

(g) Removal of rubbish, etc. 

* For concrete curbing see Art. 73. 



APPENDIX 



REFERENCES 

The following list of references is submitted with no claim for its completeness. 
In its preparation the author had in view the accessibility of the various publica- 
tions to the average student in Civil Engineering. Occasional valuable articles on 
specifications (abstracts of many of which will be found among the magazine 
references) have appeared in publications of the American Society of Civil En- 
gineers, of numerous local engineering societies, of the Society of Municipal Con- 
tractors, of the American Society of Engineering Contractors, of the American 
Society of Municipal Improvements, of the American Society for Testing Ma- 
terials, of the American Public Works Association and others. 



CONTRACT VERSUS DAY'S WORK 

Engineering News: 

1906, v. 56, p. 411 (cost plus a fixed sum). 

1910, v. 63, p. 415 (cost plus a fixed sum); pp. 101, 503, 504 (relative efficiency). 

191 1, v. 66, pp. 115, 117 (day's work at New Orleans). 

1912, v. 68, p. 34 (day's work at Minneapolis). 

1912, v. 68, p. 392 (" contract payments based on cost"). 

Engineering Record: 

1909, v. 59, p. 530 (cost plus a fixed sum). 

CONTRACTS, CONTRACTORS, ETC. 

Under this heading are included references to broad discussions of the mutual 
relations of Contractor, Engineer and Owner. 

Engineering News: 

1902, v. 48, p. 45 (contract enforcement); p. 213 (engineers, contractors and 
specifications); p. 237 (price of risks); p. 287 (duty of engineer to contractor). 

1903, v. 49, p. 146 (young engineers and contractors). 
1905, v. 53, p. 594 (specifications, contracts and lawsuits). 

1907, v. 57, pp. 587, 595 (public contracts); p. 649 (U. S. Reclamation Service 
specifications, notes). 

1907, v. 58, pp. 356, 363 (a contractor's point of view). 

1908, v. 60, p. 368 (loose specifications and dishonest contractors). 
1912, v. 67, p. 439 (bonds and sureties). 

114 



APPENDIX 115 

Engineering Record: 

1906, v. 53, p. 100 (preserving contractor's rights). 

1910, v. 62, p. 1 8 (standardizing forms). 

1911, v. 64, p. 604 (comment on N. Y. City specifications and contracts); pp. 
644, 678, 777 (relations of engineers and contractors). 

1912, v. 66, p. 527 (alternative methods). 

1912, v. 66, p. 589 (objectionable features, government contracts). 

1912, v. 66, p. 693 (unfair clauses). 

1913, v. 67, p. 148 (public work contracts). 

Engineering-Contracting, Nov. 17, 1909 (symposium). 

Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, 1909 Report, p. i (engineer in court). 

Ohio Engineering Society, 1907 Report, p. 80 (contracts and contractors). 
1908 Report, p. 60 (specifications and their improvement). 

Society of the Municipal Engineers of New York City, May, 1904 (general dis- 
cussion). 

ADVERTISEMENT AND INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS 

Engineering News: 

*95, v. 54, p. 466 (fraudulent advertising). 

1907, v. 57, p. 587 (obscure advertising). 

1909, v. 61, p. 631 (local bidders). 

1911, v. 66, p. 306 (theory of advertisement); p. 321 (public corporation advertis- 
ing). 

1912, v. 67, p. 434 (summary, instructions to bidders, etc.). 

Engineering Record: 

1903, v. 48, p. i (competition in local work). 
1905, v. 52, p. 676 (U. S. government work). 

1908, v. 57, p. 220 (approximate estimates). 
1908, v. 58, p. 29 (rejecting all bids). 

1910, v. 61, p. 289 (approximate estimates). 

Ohio Engineering Society, 1908 Report, p. 144 (approximate estimates). 

PROPOSAL 

Engineering News: 

1903, v. 50, p. 269 (laws governing awards). 

1904, v. 52, p. 181 (security with bids); p. 363 (precautions in preparing blanks); 
p. 423 (mentioning time). 

1905, v. 54, pp. 466, 515 (fraudulent proposals). 

1907, v. 57, p. 588 (fraudulent proposals). 

1908, v. 60, p. 439 (lowest responsible bidder). 

1909, v. 61, p. 175 (pooling bids, Germany). 
1909, v. 62, p. 100 (lowest bidder, Ohio). 
1912, v. 67, p. 434 (instructions to bidders). 
1912, v. 68, p. 173 (pooling bids). 



Il6 APPENDIX 

Engineering Record: 

1906, v. 54, p. 37 (lowest bidder, Cross River dam). 

1907, v. 56, p. 220 (lowest bidder, Ashokan dams). 

1911, v. 64, pp. 61, 231 (lowest bidder). 

Lump Sum versus Unit Prices 

Engineering News: 

1905, v. 53, p. 17 (advantages of unit prices); p. 100 (advantages of lump sum). 
1907, v. 57, p. 588 (unbalanced bids). 

1912, v. 67, p. 743 (unbalanced bid tricks). 

Engineering Record: 

1909, v. 60, pp. 572, 645 (percentage unit plan). 



COMPOSITION OF SPECIFICATIONS 

Engineering News: 

1909, v. 61, p. 386 (a Nova Scotia lawsuit). 
1912, v. 67, p. 443 (the writing of specifications). 



GENERAL CLAUSES 

Specifications and Plans 

Engineering News: 

I 93 J v - 5> P- 543 (omissions). 

1905, v. 53, p. 594 (sufficiency of plans). 

I 95 J v - 54> PP- 577> 5 8 (alterations, Manhattan bridge). 

1906, v. 55, pp. 1 20, 128 (alterations, Manhattan bridge). 

Engineering Record: 

JQOS* v - 5 2 > P- 7*3 (guarantee of correctness). 

1908, v. 57, p. 114 (change in sewer plans). 

1911, v. 64, p. 724 (alterations in specifications). 

1912, v. 65, p. 366 (sufficiency of plans, England). 
1912, v. 65, p. 477 (copying specifications). 

1912, v. 66, p. 449 (sufficiency of plans). 

The Engineer during Construction 

Engineering News: 

1902, v. 48, p. 213 (limits to engineer's authority). 

1903, V. 50, p. 543 (powers of engineer). 

1905, v. 53, pp. 76, 344, 594 (powers and duties of engineer). 

1907, v. 58, p. 2 (enforcement of specifications). 

1909, v. 6r, p. 387 (death of engineer). 

1912, v. 67, p. 166 (engineer's liability to contractor). 
1912, v. 68, p. 682 (arbitration board). 



APPENDIX 117 

Engineering Record : 

1905, v. 52, p. 748 (acceptance of material, etc.). 

1910, v. 61, p. 318 (verbal orders). 

1911, v. 64, p. 331 (arbitration). 

1911, v. 65, p. 348 (discretion of engineer). 

1912, v. 66, p. 72 (arbitration). 

1912, v. 66, p. loo (engineer's decision and board of arbitration, England). 

Western Society of Civil Engineers, 1912 Report (arbitration). 

Transactions American Society of Civil Engineers: v. 58, pp. 345, 380 (powers of 
engineer). 

The Contractor's Miscellaneous Responsibilities 

Engineering News: 

1912, v. 68, p. 455 (German decision on accidents). 

Engineering Record: 

1908, v. 58, p. 627 (accidents to workmen, faulty material). 

1911, v. 64, p. 495 (liability insurance). 

1912, v. 65, p. 190 (responsibility for accidents). 

Progress of Work 

Engineering News: 

1903, v. 49, p. 216 (damages for delay). 

1904, v. 51, p. 284 (penalty clause). 

1905, v. 53, p. 258 (delay and suspension, railroad work); p. 594 (time limit, 
etc.). 

iQ05> v - 54> P- 356 (damages for delay, Williamsburg bridge). 

1906, v. 55, p. 88 (strike clause, building contracts); p. 323 (damages for delay). 
1911, v. 65, pp. 602, 603 (court decision, time penalty). 

Engineering Record: 

1906, v. 53, p. 48 (delays, suspension); p. 120 (penalties and forfeitures). 
1908, v. 57, pp. 387, 587 (delay). 

1908, v. 58, p. 383 (time penalty clauses). 

1909, v. 60, p. 152 (penalty vs. liquidated damages). 

1910, v. 61, p. 765 (delay). 

1911, v. 64, p. 246 (delay); pp. 347, 351 (reasonable diligence). 

1912, v. 66, p. 561 (delays), p. 657 (liquidated damages decisions). 

Engineering Magazine, Feb., 1904. 

U. S. Statutes, i83d., Sun Printing Co. vs. Moore (penalty and liquidated damages), 
Oct., 1901. 

Terms of Payment 

Engineering News: 

1003, v. 49, pp. 216, 369 (subletting). 
1903, v. 50, p. 78 (per cent profit). 



Il8 APPENDIX 

1904, v. 52, p. 151 (assignment); pp. 198, 242 (per cent retained). 

1905, v. 53, p. 339 (unpaid bills, U. S. government contracts). 

I 9S> v - 54, P- 42 (extra work clauses); pp. 577, 581 (illegal extra work). 

1906, v. 55, pp. 1 20, 128 (illegal extra work). 

1907, v. 58, p. 356 (extra work). 

1909, v. 61, p. 196 (extra work clauses). 

1910, v. 63, p. 266 (maintenance). 
1910, v. 64, p. 491 (maintenance). 

1912, v. 68, p. 284 (subcontractor clause); p. 529 (maintenance); p. 1043 (extra 
work 530 B.C.). 

Engineering Record: 

1906, v. 53, p. 22 (extra work); p. 66 (receipt in full). 

1907, v. 55, p. 667 (final certificate). 
1910, v. 62, p. 478 (extra work). 

1912, v. 66, p. 142 (guarantee of performance). 

1913, v. 67, pp. 48, 352 (extra work). 

Municipal Engineering: 1913, v. 44, p. 118 (extra work). 

Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, 1909 Report, p. 6 (extra work clauses). 

SPECIFIC CLAUSES 

The American Society for Testing Materials has issued standard speci- 
fications for ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, cement and clay products, 
and miscellaneous materials (including road material, bitumen, lumber, etc.). 
The American Railway Engineering Association has prepared standard 
specifications for a variety of materials, including steel and iron, timber, 
etc. Ostrup's "Standard Specifications for Structural Steel, Timber, 
Concrete and Reinforced Concrete" is a useful reference book. The 
National Association of Cement Users issues pamphlets containing speci- 
fications for sidewalks, building blocks, street pavements, curb and gutter, 
various concrete surfaces, etc. 

References to other standard specifications and to discussions of points 
in connection with specific clauses follow. 

Sewers 

Ogden, "Sewer Construction." 

Engineering News: 

1903, v. 50, p. 342 (measurement of length). 
1905, v. 53, p. 367 (measurement of length). 
1913, v. 69, p. 484 (sewer pipe). 

Engineering Record: 

1908, v. 57, p. 114 (change in sewer plans). 
1910, v. 61, pp. 3, 25 (N. Y. City). 

1913, v. 67, p. 235 (vitrified pipe). 



APPENDIX 119 

Municipal Engineering: 

19 10, v. 39, p. 317 (St. Louis). 
1912,. v. 42, p. 90 (outline). 

Engineering World, Oct. 5, 1906. 

Macadam Roads 

The standard specifications of various states, as Massachusetts, New Jersey, New 
York, Connecticut, Maryland, California. (These are sometimes included in the 
annual reports of the highway commissions, and are printed separately.) 

Organization for Standardizing Paving Specifications. 

Engineering News: 

1904, v. 52, p. 241 (defective specifications). 

1912, v. 68, pp. 1018, 1106 (patent infringements, road contracts). 

Municipal Engineering, 1909, v. 37, p. 254 (bituminous macadam). 
Engineering-Contracting, Dec. 8, 1909 (bituminous macadam). 

Cast-Iron Water Pipe (and accessories) 

American Water Works Association. 

New England Water Works Association. (Either of these standard specifications 
may be found in pipe manufacturers' handbooks.) 

Engineering News, 1904, v. 52, p. 287 (comments). 

Concrete and Stone Masonry 

Baker, "Masonry Construction." 

Watson, "General Specifications for Concrete Bridges." 

Pamphlets issued by cement manufacturers. 

Engineering News: 

1005, v. 53, pp. 41, 98 (value of perch). 

1910, v. 64, pp. 492, 540 (Chicago concrete measurement rules). 

1912, v. 67, p. 775 (stone masonry, Kensico Dam). 

1913, v. 69, p. 121 (concrete dam). 

Municipal Engineering: 

1909, v. 36, p. 227 (concrete bridges). 

v ' 37> PP- J 78, 1 86 (concrete walks). 

1910, v. 39, p. 385 (expansion joints, walks). 

Lumber or Timber 

U. S. Forestry Bulletin No. 71. 

Various Lumbermen's Associations Standards, as that of Yellow Pine Manufacturers 
Association, etc. 



120 APPENDIX 

Pavements 

Organization for Standardizing Paving Specifications. 
Whinery, "Specifications for Street Roadway Pavements." 

Manufacturers of paving material, as National Paving Brick Manufacturers As- 
sociation, Wood Preservers Association, etc. 

Engineering News: 

1910, v. 63, p. 266 (maintenance guarantee). 

v. 64, p. 491 (contractor's view of maintenance). 

1912, v. 67, p. 654 (maintenance guarantee). 

Engineering Record, 1908, v. 58, p. 31 (asphalt). 

Municipal Engineering: 

1909, v. 36, p. 238 (wood block, Indianapolis), 
v. 37, p. 42 (maintenance guarantee). 

1911, v. 40, pp. 223, 523 (wood block). 

1913, v. 44, p. 116 (asphalt). 

Engineering-Contracting: 

Nov. 10, 1909 (pavement foundations). 

June 15, 1910 (wood block, summary of requirements). 

Grading, etc. 

Engineering News: 

1904, v. 51, p. 178 (plowing test, excavation). 

v. 52, p. 288 (protecting embankment slopes); p. 424 (plowing test, 
excavation) . 

Engineering Record: 

1909, v. 59, p. 366 (plowing test, excavation). 

191 1, v. 64, p. 604 (payments for rock excavation). 

Steel and Iron 

Osborn's, Cooper's, Waddell's, American Bridge Company' s specifications, etc. 
Railroad Age Gazette, May 21, 1909 (five specifications compared). 

Collection and Disposal of City Wastes 

Engineering News, 1910, v. 53, p. 175 (Boston). 

Materials in General 

Municipal Engineering, 1909, v. 36, p. 234 (quality). 



INDEX 



Numbers refer to pages. 

Abandonment, 71. 

procedure following, 72 
Accidents, 61, 68. 
" Acts of God," 64. 
Advertisement, essentials of, 13. 

necessity for, 15. 
Alterations, 7, 41. 
Arbitration, board of, 49. 
Arbitrator, 49. 
Assignment, 83. 
Authority of engineer, 47. 

Balanced treatment, 106. 
Bidders, information for, 14. 
Bids, presenting, 26. 
unbalanced, 28. 
Board of arbitration, 49. 
Bond, specimen, 13. 

substance of surety, 12. 
Bonus, 79. 

Breach of contract, 7, 77. 
Bridge, concrete highway, specification outline, in. 

Catastrophes, risks, 64. 
Certificates, engineer's final, 96. 

engineer's monthly, 93. 
Changes, authority for, 41. 

cost of, 41. 

effect on contract, 7, 41. 
Claims, courts of, 45. 
Classification, earth and rock, 101. 
Clearness, rules for, 32. 
value of, 31. 

Closets for workmen, 38. 
Code of Khammurabi, 62. 
Collusion between bidders, 23. 
Composition of specifications, 31. 
Concrete highway bridge, specification outline, in. 
Concrete sidewalks, specification outline, 112. 
Condemned material, 53. 
Consideration, 6. 
Contract and design, 7. 

and specifications, 10. 

awards, 26. 

breach of, 7, 78. 

defined, 5. 

discharge of, 7. 

121 



122 INDEX 



Contract, essentials, 5. 

plan and specifications, 8. 
specimen, n. 
work, 2, 3. 
Contractor, defined, 39. 

independent, 61. 
risks and responsibilities, 61. 
workmen employed by, 56. 
Cost plus a fixed sum, 2. 

plus a percentage, 2. 
Court of Claims, 45. 

Dam, earth, specification outline, 112. 
Damage to persons or property, 61. 
Damages, liquidated, for delay, 77. 
Danger warnings, 62. 
Data, verification of, 44. 
Date for beginning work, 69. 

for completing work, 24, 69. 
Day's work plan, i. 
Decision of engineer, 47. 
Defects, unnoticed, 54. 
Defining terms, 39. 
Delay, cause for, 75. 

damages for, 77. 
Design, 8. 
Diction, 31. 

Difficulties, unforeseen, 63. 
Dilatoriness of contractor, 77. 
Discharge of employees, 57. 
Discrepancies in plan or specifications, 42. 
Dock or trestle, specification outline, 113. 
Documents prepared by engineer, 3. 

Earth and rock classification, 102. 

measurement, 102. 
Employees of contractor, discharge, 57. 

laws affecting, 58 
Engineer, certificates, 92. 
decision of, 47. 
definition, i, 40. 
directions, reception of, 55. 
duties, 47. 
Estimate of quantities, 21. 

progress, 93. 
Extension of time, 75. 
Extra work, 84. 

ancient comment on evils, 86. 
clause, 86. 

Failure to complete punctually, 77. 

Fairness, 35. 

Fair specifications, 35. 

Final certificate, 96. 

payment, conditions of, 96. 
Force account, i. 
Forfeiture of penalty, 78. 
Funds, source and nature of, 82. 



INDEX 123 



General clauses, 9. 

specifications, 108. 
Guarantee clauses, 98. 

Impossibilities, 7, 105. 
Inconsistencies, 42. 
Indefinite terms, 35, 101. 
Independent contractor, 61. 
Information for bidders, 19. 
Injury to persons or property, 61. 
Inspection, inspector, 52. 
Insurance of completed work, 64. 
Interpretation of specifications, 47. 
Intoxicants, sale or use of, 58. 

Justification of sureties, 26. 
Khammurabi, code of, 62. 

Laborers, 58.. 

Labor laws, 56. 

Language of specifications, 31. 

Legal restrictions respecting workmen, 58. 

Licences, 65. 

Liens, 97. 

Liquidated damages, 78. 

Liquor, sale or use of, 39. 

Local ordinances, 65. 

Lowest bidder, 27. 

Lump sum and unit prices, 27. 

Macadam road, specification outline, 109. 

Maintenance, 98. 

Masonry measurement, 101. 

Material rejected, 53. 

Materials, quality of, 105. 

Methods and results, 105. 

Misunderstanding terms of contract, 23. 

Monthly certificates or estimates, 93. 

Night work, 69. 

Notice to contractors, 13. 

Omission, 42. 
Ordinances, local, 65. 
Outlines of specific clauses, 108. 
Owner, i, 39. 

Partial payments, 91. 

Patent rights, securing, etc., 66. 

Patented articles, requiring, 104. 

Pavement, wood block specification outline, 113. 

Payment, final, 96. 

of employees, 58. 

partial, 91. 
Penalty clause, 78. 
Percentage unit plan, 29. 
Permits, etc., 65. 



124 INDEX 

Pipe, cast iron, specification outline, in. 
Plans and specifications, 8, 38. 

kept on work, 46. 
Pooling bids, 23. 
Power of attorney, 39. 
Prices, unit, 28. 
Profits, contractor's, 3, 87. 
Progress, rate of, 69. 
Prohibiting work, 70. 
Property damage, 61. 
Proposal, essentials, 23. 

necessity for form, 22. 

presenting, 26. 

specimen, 25. 

unbalanced, 28. 
Public travel, 68. 

Quality of material, 105. 
Quantities, estimate of, 21. 

Rejected material, 53. 

Rejection of bids, 19. 

Repairs, 98. 

Responsibilities of contractor, 61. 

Results versus methods, 105. 

Retaining wall, specification outline, 112. 

Risks, 36, 61. 

Road, macadam, specification outline, 109. 

Rock and earth classification, 102. 

Roman engineer, anecdote, 47. 

Samples, submitting with bid, 20, 
Sanitary provisions, 56. 
Security with contract, 18, 24. 
with proposal, 18, 24. 
Sewer, specification outline, 108. 
Sidewalks, specification outline, concrete, 112. 
Specifications and plans, 8, 38. 

kept on work, 46. 

Specifications, standard or general, 108. 
Specific clauses, defined, 8. 

outlines, 108. 

Standard specifications, 108. 
Straw bids, 23. 
Subcontractor, 83. 
Subletting or assignment, 83. 
Sufficiency of plans, 43. 
Sunday, holiday or night work, 70. 
Superintendence, 47. 
Surety bonds, 12. 
Sureties, justification of, 26. 
Survey points, 67. 
Suspension, 73. 

Time, extension of, 75. 

limit for completion, -24, 69. 
Travel, public, 68. 
Trestle or dock, specification outline, 113. 



INDEX 125 



Unbalanced bids, 28. 
Unforeseen difficulties, 53. 
Unit prices and lump sum, 27. 
Units, denning, 101. 
Unnoticed defects, 54. 

Valuable consideration, 6. 
Verification of data, 44. 

Wages of employees, 58. 

Wall, retaining, specification outline, 112. 

Water pipe, cast iron, specification outline, in. 

Wood block pavement, specification outline, 113. 

Words defined, 39. 

Work, extra, 84. 

Workmen, citizenship, hours, pay, etc., 58. 

discharge of, 57. 

sanitary conveniences for, 56. 
Written and printed matter, 41. 




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THURSTON Materials of Engineering. In Three Parts 8vo, 8 00 

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10 



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MARTIN Laboratory Guide to Qualitative Analysis with the Blowpipe. 12mo, *0 60 

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21 



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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 



